THE

SALT-BOX
HOUSE

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LIFE IN A NEW ENGLAND
HILL TOWN 5y JANE DEFOREST S:iELTON

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The Salt- Box House

" The Ornament of the House is Neatness,
The Luck of the House is Contentment,
The Honor of the House is Hospitality,
The Blessing of the House is Piety."

"Love is the true key of history "

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2010 with funding from

Boston Library Consortium IVIember Libraries

http://www.archive.org/details/saltboxhouseeigh1929shel

as

&

The Salt-Box House

Eighteenth Century Life in a New
England Hill Town

By Jane de Forest Shelton

New York

Charles Scribner's Sons

1929

1

Copyright, 1900 and igor,

BT

THE BAKER & TAYLOR CO.

c-

_. In f)onor ot tbe Xona*Bao;

\f) AND TO THOSE, WHO, PASSING AN OLD HIGHWAY,

SEE THE SIGNS WRITTEN ON MOSS-COVERED FENCES,

IN TRACES OF OLD DOOR-YARDS,

BY LONE-STANDING CHIMNEYS,

AND WOULD KNOW THE INTERPRETATION THEREOF;

TO THOSE WHOSE PULSES ARE STIRRED

AS THEY STAND BENEATH THE LONG SLOPING ROOFS,

AND WHOSE HEARTS BOW REVERENTLY

AS THEY READ THE RECORDS

ON THE GRAVE-STONES OF THE SEVENTEEN HUNDREDS,

dbid boofi id inaccibeD.

PREFACE

Fire, with its relentless touch; the paper-mill
during the Civil War with its eager grasp and
large recompense; and the hand that knows no
reverence for " Yesterday " have combined to
cast into the pit of Oblivion much that would
now be deemed priceless. But the faithful
seeker along the shores of the Past will find that
there yet remain sheltered beaches where some
of the treasures left by the flood of Time have
escaped the wear of waves, a careless foot, and
crumpling fingers.

This record of life in the eighteenth century
has been compiled from a careful searching of
private papers, and by mention of the long-ago,
a stirring of old memories, parting the mists of
the present and welcoming the wafts of recollec-
tion, till the vision dear to the old hearts grew
clear, and tradition and knowledge were se-
cured.

7

PREFACE

It is believed that in the following pages there
is not recorded a custom or a costume, an article
of use or adornment, a habit of life or of man-
ner, for which there is not authority for the
period and locality designated.

Life in the various New England colonies had
many common characteristics, but it had also
differences dependent upon the situation of
towns, their accessibility or isolation, the class
of persons founding them, and the possible
means of subsistence. The purpose of this record
is to show the life on one group of hills in west-
ern Connecticut, which, although typical, had
nevertheless some special features.

All life in the primitive days of our country
had its hardships, its trials, and privations, but it
had also its amenities, and although To-day
would not willingly change places with Yester-
day, it is quite possible that Yesterday would
not change with To-day.

J. DE F. S.

Greystone, Derby, Conn., August, 1900.
8

VIII
When the Heir came of Age

FAGB

CONTENTS

I

The Touch of Time 15

II
New England Pioneers 20

III
The Edge of the Wilderness 25

IV
Queen Esther's Household 29

V

Black and White 37

VI

Church and Meeting 41

VII

The Sunday Outing 47

53

IX
The Building of the House 61

X

The Household Plenishing 68

9

XI

PAGB

Supplying the Family Needs

78

XII

The Daily Life

83

XIII

A Journey to New Haven

95

XIV

The Mother's Duties

III

XV

Making New Friends

117

XVI

Fire and Light

124

XVII

Fishing and Camping

134

XVIII

Fashions

145

XIX

The Tory Non-Combatants

150

XX

The French Army

162

XXI

The Uncertain Years

168

XXII

St. Pumpkin's Day and Christmas

176

XXIII

The Daughter's Education

183

lO

CONTENTS
XXIV

BAGS

Young Ladyhood 191

XXV

Books and Newspapers 200

XXVI

Youth and Age 213

XXVII
The Hour of Sorrow 231

XXVIII
The Third Generation 238

XXIX

Girlhood and Romance 244

XXX

The Aged Friend 251

XXXI
The Changing Years 254

XXXII
At Home and Abroad 262

XXXIII
Not a "Grim Old Maid" 276

XXXIV
The Reminiscent Years 286

XXXV

The Death of the House

292

Appendix 297

II

The Salt-Box House

"History is a landscape, and, like those op natuee, it is con-
tinually CHANGING. Two PERSONS WHO LOOK AT IT AT THE SAME
TIME DO NOT FIND IN IT THE SAME CHARM, AND TOU YOURSELF, IF YOU
fTAn IT CONTINUALLY BEFORE YOUR EYES, WOULD NEVER SEE IT TWICE
ALIKE. The GENERAL LINES ARE PERMANENT, BUT IT NEEDS ONLY A
JET OF LIGHT TO BRING OUT SUCH OR SUCH A DETAIL AND GIVE IT A
FALSE VALUE.

"When I began this page the sun was disappearing behind the

RUINS OF THE CASTLE OP CRUSSOL, AND THE SPLENDORS OP THE SUN-
SET GAVE IT A SHINING AUREOLA ; THE LIGHT FLOODED EVERYTHING
AND YOU NO LONGER SAW EVERYWHERE THE DAMAGE WHICH WARS
HAVE INFLICTED UPON THE OLD FEUDAL MANOR. I LOOKED, ALMOST
THINKING I COULD PERCEIVE AT THE WINDOW THE FIGURE OF THE
CHATELAINE. . . . TWILIGHT HAS COME, AND NOW THERE IS NOTHING
THERE BUT CRUMBLING WALLS, A DISCROWNED TOWER, NOTHING BUT

RUINS AND RUBBISH WHICH SEEM TO BEG FOR PITY ."—Introduction to
the Life of S. Francis of Assisi by Paul Sabatier.

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

THE TOUCH OF TIME

The old house looks as if it had stood in the
path of a tornado. But it has only yielded to the
pressure of the hand of Time weighted with the
vagaries of New England's climate. Even the
pyramids of Egypt could not long have held
their majesty if they had been set on Connecti-
cut's hills with her extremes of heat and cold to
try their temper; and the old house, though firm
in its foundation and staunch in its up-rearing,
after bearing itself bravely for one hundred and
thirty years, fell, as an old man falls by the way-
side— when the knees give way and the head
drops forward — all of a heap !

The house seemed to lose heart when Miss

Mary died. She was the last of her Hne, and her

15

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

next of kin, being well placed elsew'here, cared
not for removal. After a brief period of desolation
the alien came to work the land on shares. But,
as the strange burr dropped from his tongue,
and he set up his cheap modern furniture, the
old walls stood aloof and the ceilings withheld
their benediction. At the end of the season he
complained that the stairs were awry, the cup-
board shelves aslant, and the " childer " tripped
on the wavy floors; so when all these incongrui-
ties, animate and inanimate, were safely out-
side the great door, the latch gave a happy
cHck as it fell into place, leaving the house alone
with its secrets and its mysteries. And again
the winds brought their joys and sorrows to
the sympathetic chimney, while the sunbeams
came through the unshaded windows to dance
their old stately measure on the familiar floors.
The old home-makers needed no modern dec-
orator to tell them that the chimney was the
heart of the house. Well they knew that
through its arteries the life-blood must flow, that
it meant warmth, and food, and comfort, all that
centres in a home. And for long this great
chimney held itself like a stout heart against all

i6

THE TOUCH OF TIME

odds. But when the frosts of winter and the
suns of summer swelled, and then shrivelled, the
mortar lying between the stones at the top till
it crumbled out, scattering down to the eaves,
and now and again a top-stone fell off, there was
no one to know it. And the cellar gathered
more than its share of dampness that worked in
between the great stones at the chimney's base.
Then one night a fierce, unfriendly wind danced
around the old walls, mockingly taking hold of
the ridge-pole as if shaking it by the shoulders,
and, with a shiver, the great heart failed. Over
onto the sloping roof the chimney fell, crashing
through and carrying down with it shingles,
rafters and flooring, down, down, to the cellar
itself, filling the great chasm with wreakage
half-way to the ceiling of the first floor, and
tumbling out far beyond the back-door stone,
out to the rose-bushes themselves. Stones
enough to build a church!

It had been a great house in its day. Built
after the fashion that ruled largely in Connecti-
cut for half of the last century, it was more
convenient and commodious than graceful or

picturesque. Colloquially, it was called a " salt-

17

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

box house," its lines repeating those of the
wooden salt-box that hung in the kitchen chim-
ney. The ridge-pole was set far to the front,
from which a short roof pitched to the top of
the second story, but the back roof sloped long
and curveless down to the outer line of the ceil-
ing of the ground floor, reaching out a wing
beyond that to cover the L that cuddled close to
the main house.

The chimney too, the house's great centre,
was set well forward. Following the prevailing
custom, irrespective of the highway, the house
faced the south. The wide front door, with long
iron hinges stretching across it, opened into a
small hall or " entry," from which, by a few
steps, and a landing at top and bottom, the stair-
case, with its quaintly turned balusters, wound
against the back of the chimney, leading to
another short hall above. From each end of
these " entries " opened rooms large and square,
leading again into other rooms, and on the lower
floor the whole front of the great chimney made
the cheer of the long kitchen.

Beyond the house were the many out-build-
ings; the L covering both a well and a fireplace,

i8

THE TOUCH OF TIME

the " end-kitchen," the little house that made
quarters for some of the slaves, the smoke-house
and wood-sheds, and beyond these, across the
garden, were the great barns giving shelter to
the various animals that bespoke the necessities
of the day when each family lived principally
upon its own resources, and there another well
with a long " sweep " repeated the house-lines
in its slope.

Built in 1758, the house had been the birth-
place of nine children, and its hospitable door
was ever open not only for friend and kindred,
but for the stranger as well. From it had gone
forth much that tended to the growth and well-
being of the neighboring towns, and, in its
measure, the never-ending influence of good
lives and right living on the race.

Salt BoX^f yCQl^^^'

II

NEW ENGLAND PIONEERS

The hardships of the pioneer, in any land,
result largely from severity of climate and the
distance from those necessities of life that the
new country does not supply, while his success
depends upon more than industry and persever-
ance. The Mayflower company and the 25,000
colonists that came to New England in the first
twenty years of its settling brought with their
carved chests, their big Bibles, their supply of
linen and pewter, a store of faith and courage,
of fine enthusiasm and unflinching purpose, to
be daunted neither by fear of the savage nor the
might of Nature's barriers, proving the force of
civilization in subduing the untamed native, and
making of rock, and tree, and soil, both friend
and vassal.

Twenty years from the landing at Plymouth
20

NEW ENGLAND PIONEERS

Rock found the first great Indian war success-
fully ended, and hundreds of settlements, not
only along the coasts and by the mouths of the
rivers, but the wilderness <had been threaded,
and homes were set beside the upper waters.
Following an inherent law of succession — ^where
man has been man will be — the footprint of the
outgoing Indian proved often a loadstone to
the incoming colonist. The site of clustered
wigwams became a centre for groups of low log-
houses, soon superseded by more ambitious
dwellings as numbers grew and various crafts-
men put their hands to the up-building.

Cupheag, on Long Island Sound, near the
mouth of the Housatonic River, deserted by the
red man after the " Swamp Fight " at Fairfield,
thus became the foundation settlement for a
band of pioneers from the Connecticut colony at
Hartford. Friendly relations were established
with the not-far-off Indian, who, charmed by the
adornments and appliances of civilization, gladly
exchanged broad tracts of the one commodity
that to him seemed inexhaustible — land — ^for
coats and kettles, for knives and rifles, for
spoons and powder, until eventually groups and

21

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

ranges of forest-covered hills were added to the
township, stretching its measure on the river
twelve miles northward, and spreading seven or
eight to the west. Extent of territory was the
aim of towns and of individuals. Great pur-
chases were made and divided by " lot " among
the original proprietors, thus giving to Ameri-
cans the term still used to designate a portion
of land.

In western Connecticut the upland soil is often
richer than that of the valleys, and as adventur-
ous spirits were not lacking, centres of settle-
ment focussed here and there among the
clustering hills, until Stratford, as Cupheag
became to the white man, increasing in power
and numbers, formed one of the most important
towns in the Colony.

In 1686 a young Englishman arrived at its
port of entry, applied for permission to build a
warehouse and dock, and successfully conducted
a large shipping and mercantile business. In
1692 he made fitting choice, for a bride, of a
Wethersfield maiden, the granddaughter of one
of the early colonial governors, and closely al-
lied to other prominent families of the alder

22

NEW ENGLAND PIONEERS

settlements. Early in 1700 these two, Daniel
and Elizabeth, with their children, removed
from Stratford village to Long Hill, about eight
miles northward, where Daniel's landed interest
was a tract two miles square, reaching eastward
through Corum to the river. Near the crest of
Long Hill he built him a house.

Fashion knows no law, but, while it may result
from a freak, or fancy, or even a mischance in
the weaving, it is sometimes the result of so pro-
saic a cause as taxes. Queen Anne laid a tax on
all two-story houses in the colonies, and the most
loyal subject was justified in planning his house-
walls to avoid an unnecessary expenditure.
This tax gave rise to an architecture graceful
and inviting, with long curving roofs sloping
evenly from each side of the ridge-pole to the
upper line of the first story, thus giving but one
story that would count, while the roof covered
two or three more. The first house built on
Long Hill was of this order, and it was believed
that this beautiful level hill-crest, with its outlook
across the Sound to the shores of Long Island,
would prove a "centre;" but fate, Hke fashion,

takes its own course, and the real centre for this

23

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

district developed four miles westward, where
the east and west " spraynes " of the Far-Mill
River joined their forces at the favorite Indian
rendezvous of Acquunkquoke — " high-land."

With this district and centre Daniel was
closely identified from the beginning, naming it
Repton, in memory of his English home, and
gathering its able-bodied men under his com-
mand as lieutenant of the " train-band," the
highest officer the small parish could then sus-
tain, sixty-four men being necessary to allow a
captaincy.

Queen Anne died, and the tax-law changed;

DanieFs children reaching maturity, a larger

house was built almost in touch with the old

one, but although both have disappeared, the

lilac-bushes still stand by the old stone-wall, and

tell the tale of parents and children, of young

men and maidens, who lived and loved.

24

Ill

THE EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS

In 1728 Daniel died, leaving, besides the
widow Elizabeth, two daughters and seven sons.
The daughters, EHzabeth and Sarah, were
already married. Joseph, the eldest son, having
married his second cousin, Mary of Glastonbury,
had lifted his roof-tree not far from that of his
father, and Daniel Jr., having found his Mary in
Fairfield, had been assigned a part of the pater-
nal estate in Corum. In 1733 Thaddeus, the
third son, following Joseph's example, won for
his queen and consort Esther, the sister of Mary
of Glastonbury, and decided to settle on a cer-
tain tract of two hundred and sixty acres, a part
of his inheritance, lying near Stratford's extreme
northern boundary, called the Upper White

Hills.

25

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

Roads were still few and only an Indian trail
led into, and through, this unbroken forest; but,
with axe and energy, the trail widened, a site
was chosen, a clearing made, the small house
built after Queen Anne's fashion took form,
and the home in the wilderness was not without
comfort. Queen Esther must have borne her
lord a large love to be willing to leave the colo-
nial centre for this isolation, and brave natures
were those of all who were not deterred from
frontier life by thought of the uncertain Indian
or prowling wolves.

The house was set back about ten rods from

the road, the gable end facing it and the south,

and a great door opened into the chief room

with its wide fireplace and oven. At one side

and at the back were other rooms, a staircase led

to the half-story above, and adjoining the house,

at an angle, was the additional building for the

slaves, then a part of so many households.

Across the front of the house ran an uncovered

porch, two great stones leading from it down

to the stretch of meadow that lay between the

house and the path out to the world. The land

sloped slightly on the western side, giving free

26

THE EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS

entrance to the cellar, which in its turn had both
fireplace and oven.

No other house was in sight, and as neighbors
came, one at a mile's distance was counted near.
But a man did not mind a long stretch of acres
between him and his neighbor if only they were
his own acres, and solitude was not then out of
fashion. Those were days without hurry, and
neither time nor effort was an objectionable fac-
tor. Life was busy with its necessities and its
primitive limitations; ambition was for the
future, not for the present.

Queen Esther loved her liege and her little
home, and when a boy was born to them to bear
the name of his grandfather Daniel, her heart
glowed with pride. And she loved her flower-
garden, the lilacs and syringas, and the roses
she had brought from her Glastonbury home,
the white Star of Bethlehem and bunches of
green live-for-ever; and she cherished a root of
wormwood, and sweet sicily, and other herbs of
value to the medical laity. But among all these
children of the soil she loved best her bed of
lilies, the large tawny-yellow garden-lily, that

sends up from its cluster of narrow, curving

27

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

leaves a tall stem, to be crowned with gay blos-
soms. So, if an Indian came on no more un-
comfortable errand than a thirst for cider, and
the only wolf's-brush she saw was motionless,
life had little cause for fear and much for
rejoicing.

A Qyeen Anr\ H«\iCc.

IV
QUEEN ESTHER'S HOUSEHOLD

Toil and tool won their way through the
forest. The Indian's trail became the white
man's highway, and the great trees had other
destiny than to be always pointing skyward.
The wide chimney-place called them to her burn-
ing heart; they must be dressed on the ground
where they fell for the great barns that were to
be built; and lands afar that lacked them proved
their value for export.

Nature scattered her boulders in New Eng-
land with an unstinting hand; but the rich
virgin soil repaid the labor of separation, and
the long lines of stone-walls that divide field
from field testify to the untiring energy and
labor. They are now frosted with beautiful
lichens that have spread their starry growth

through a hundred and fifty years and more,

29

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

and tell to-day's wayfarer of the skill and pa-
tience of the hands, white and black, and perhaps
red too, though the Indian liked not hard work,
that thus put nature in bonds. Field after field
lifted a smooth face to the bending skies, till the
level hill-tops and sloping hill-sides were check-
ered with wheat and rye, with flax and barley,
with corn and clover; and the barns grew wider
and the coffers fuller, while the fulness of con-
tent reigned within the little house, as Nature's
largess did without.

Although the elder Daniel died in 1728, his
estate was not finally divided until after the
death of his widow, nearly twenty years later.
Daniel had grown in wealth, and as England
had laid a restraining hand on manufacturing,
land was almost the only investment. His hold-
ings covered large tracts in towns far and near,
and he retained a mercantile interest as part
owner of the sloop " Indeavor," that flitted be-
tween the various colonial ports and the West
Indies. His estate inventoried nearly £9000, of
which about £1000 was " money out in bonds,
principal and interest." Five guns served in the

defence and provisioning of the household,

30

QUEEN ESTHER'S HOUSEHOLD

The live-stock comprised lo horses and mares,
3 colts, 13 cows, 17 calves, 16 oxen, 40 sheep, 5
swine, and 10 pigs, to which may be added 8
slaves, one of whom was an Indian valued at £45.
Although the furnishings of the day included
little beyond practical ones, those were in abun-
dance. Coarse earthenware and hollow iron
vessels were made early in colonial days; Eng-
lish pewter and brass-ware supplemented these,
and the wooden vessels that, made at hand,
formed a large part of the household service.
Holland supplied the finer linen and blankets.
Niceties of dress, English broadcloth with large
silver buttons, muslin neck-cloths, all the better
clothing and adornments of the women, were of
importance and were brought across the seas.
Books, as far as obtainable, ever came into the
life, and, even although the list shows them as
unattractive in their nature as " Arguments be-
tween ye Church and Dissentry," " Concern-
ing ye Catechism,'* " Concerning Quakers," " A
Sermon Book," etc., religious subjects being of
paramount interest, they were highly valued.
But the prize of the small library of two Bibles,

two service books, ten bound books and "four-

31

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

teen small books with paper covers and with-
out," was the " Great History Book " — Dug-
dale's History of the Late Troubles in England,
1680, a large folio that Daniel had brought with
him from his fatherland, in the carved chest,
with the little red morocco and the " guilded "
leather trunk-shaped boxes, the delicate steel
pipe, and other rehcs safely harbored on the
shores of to-day.

Following the English custom, the eldest son
received a double portion, and the " setting out "
of the daughters at marriage formed usually the
chief part of their allotment. Such division of
this estate was gradually made as the needs of
the children required. When Daniel died Eliza-
beth had still five unmarried sons, but within a
decade John died; Thaddeus, Samuel, James,
and finally Josiah, the youngest, married. Ac-
cording to custom, Josiah remained with his
mother, although Elizabeth did not,, as was
usual, maintain a separate life in part of the old
home, but was still mistress-in-chief of the entire
house.

Thaddeus's marriage, like that of Joseph, was

especially pleasing to her, for Mary and Esther

32

QUEEN ESTHER'S HOUSEHOLD

were of her kindred. They had many common
interests, their family home being in touch with
the one she left so long ago when Daniel won
her youthful allegiance. And when the glad
news came that a young Daniel had opened his
eyes on the world, neither her threescore and
five years nor the rough journey deterred her
from hastening to pay her homage, and to hold
to her heart this successor to her dear husband's
name and lineage.

Thaddeus had inherited one of his father's
slaves, an African born, named Cuffee, and Es-
ther's handmaid, Dorcas, had cast her spell
over him when, as body-servant, he had accom-
panied his master to Glastonbury. This pair,
duly married, had their place in the wing
of Thaddeus's house, and proving themselves
trustworthy, as the summer days grew long and
the breeze blew soft, they were left in charge
for a few days, while the little family made a
joyful pilgrimage to the ancestral home. Thad-
deus's best pacing-mare being duly saddled and
pinioned, the full saddle-bags adjusted, and the
last directions given to the darker part of the
household, Thaddeus threw himself into the sad-

33

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

die, and then from the porch's end Esther
mounted, settled herself well on the pillion, with
her feet resting on the little narrow shelf made
for their support. Cuffee busied himself mak-
ing sure that the dark blue pillion-cloth pro-
tected her dress from the horse's flank, while
Dorcas held the precious baby till all should.be
in order. Then Esther, receiving him, held him
fast and comfortably with her left arm, a dust-
cloth of striped linen was carefully tucked about
her, and under her feet, and, putting her right
arm around her husband's waist, all were ready
to start.

The mouse-colored mare paced carefully as if
she knew what a precious burden she carried.
Thaddeus gave an occasional word of warning
that Esther might grip his coat tightly as a
rough stretch of road or a steep descent lay
before them, turning a happy face over his
shoulder when safer ground was reached, and
quickening the mare's gait on a long level, laid
his hand tenderly over Esther's as she held to
him. The baby slept and waked to meet the
loving eyes of which he was already so sure. As
they passed the occasional houses a friendly

34

QUEEN ESTHER'S HOUSEHOLD

greeting came from open window or door-yard,
but Thaddeus did not draw rein until the long
eight miles were safely travelled and his respon-
sibility over, as the dear old home he had left for
the still dearer small one was outlined against
the sky, and his mother at open door, in her
second-best black crape gown, with white linen
hand-ruffles, muslin apron and cap', waited in
welcome. Many hands, white and black, sought
to aid in the alighting, to take the young
heir from his mother's arms, to carry in the
saddle-bags, to remove Esther's light riding-
cloak, and to give the mare loving pats and tell
her she had brought her valuable burden safely.
Joseph and Mary came down the highway with
their pair of toddling Httle girls, brothers and
sisters meeting joyfully, while the little ones
gazed in awe at the wonderful double-cousin.

So there was joy in all hearts, as there was
plenty at the long table, set out with the best
Holland napkins, with shining pewter tank-
ards and plates and basons; over the coals in the
chafing-dish savory meat was cooking, and flip
steaming in the large tankard that a health
might be drunk to the new-comer.

35

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

The baby Daniel, come to receive the bene-
diction of his grandfather*s roof, was praised by
the tall uncles, adored by the enthusiastic slaves,
and caressed by his grandmother to the delight
of his parents, then safely put to sleep under
the fine Dutch blankets in the " wainscot "
(panelled) bed hung with dimity curtains and
valances, in the " great chamber," where a fire
was lighted lest some lingering breath of winter
might be in hiding. While the brothers, wan-
dering from field to field, or sitting on the wide
door-stone, talked their man's talk of land and
live-stock, of tax and interest, of church and
state, the fire burned low in the deep chimney-
place, glinting now and then on the women's
gold beads or on the rings on Elizabeth's thin
hand, as she and the child of her adoption took
sweet counsel, every vision of Esther's for her
infant son recalling to the woman whose
earthly life was so nearly completed her own
young hopes and dreams, and she lifted a grate-
ful heart for the true, manly sons and faithful
daughters who arose to call her blessed, proving
in themselves that in her widowhood she was

blessed.

36

BLACK AND WHITE

The savage side of life was still active. Eye
and ear were alert, not only lest the friendliest
Indian might become a foe, but also for sign of
bear or wolf or " rattler." Courage was always
at hand and " on guard," the signal of safety.
The seasons waxed and waned, and it was with
an ever thankful heart that the young mother
sang the lullaby dear to hundreds of thousands
that speak the English tongue :

"Hush! my dear; lie still and slumber.
Holy angels guard thy bed,
Heavenly blessings without number
Gently fall upon thy head."

The baby outgrew his cradle and was pro-
moted to a trundle-bed, and, although no brother
or sister was born to him, Httle Jube (Jubal), the
child of Cufifee and Dorcas, was his playmate,

37

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

friend, and slave. By the winter fireside, as
Esther sat at one end of the chimney-place
turning the flax-wheel with her foot and deftly
spinning the thread, the two boys, white and
black, sat on a bright red rug before the fire,
building houses of corn-cobs, and When the
summer sun glowed through the branches of
the great oak-tree that shaded the house, the
large wheel was set on the porch, so that as Es-
ther stepped back and forth, turning the wheel
with one hand and holding the rolls of carded
wool with the other, her watchful eye kept in
sight the children playing on the shady grass.
As they grew older, both were called to her
side to learn the Lord's Prayer, and from the
New England Primer not only the alphabet,
but those lessons mystical indeed to the young
mind :

" In Adam's fall
We sin-ned all."

" Xerxes did die.
And so must I."

The law of all the New England colonies made

early provision for the establishment of schools.

Each town was divided, fifty families being re-

38

BLACK AND WHITE

quired to make a " district " and to support a
" district school." To avoid taxes, the school
buildings were placed on the highways, and
frequently near cross-roads. The increase of
settlers in this part of the great town of Strat-
ford did not call for a school within a moderate
distance of Thaddeus's house until Daniel had
learned all that the little primer could teach, and
could also read from the great Bible, or the
Prayer .Book, with ease and understanding.
The prize of early education was the mother's to
bestow, and its value was fully realized.

The clearing of land, the tilling of the soil, and
preparing for export the various products, were
not the only occupations of the householder.
He was hunter also, and royal game awaited
the wary and skilful. The blunderbuss proved
an effective instrument. Its bore, slightly flaring
and well loaded with buckshot, could hit more
than one mark among a flock of wild turkeys,
whose heads were clustered over carefully scat-
tered com. And where was the white or dark-
skinned boy or man who could not build an
ambush of brush and wait patiently, weapon in
hand, for the descending flock? Deer also were

39

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

decoyed by salt placed at the base of rocks be-
hind which the hunter might safely wait, and
wild pigeons in their autumnal flight were
caught in a " spring-pole net " so carefully set
that when the flock were busy over the kernels
of grain, the man or boy concealed behind a
breastwork of brush could spring the net over
them all. There were quails, and partridges, and
gray squirrels, in the native forests, the deep
brooks near the river yielded trout, while the
river itself was a highway, not only for lesser
fish, but for the well-bred shad and even the
royal salmon. Nor was the Sound too far to
prevent its delicate shell-fish from adding their
variety, while its shores lent samphire and wild
asparagus to the list of lighter foods that the
smooth fields and gardens afforded.

And Daniel grew tall and straight and slim
like the young saplings in the sprout-land, a joy
and a comfort to those who sought always to set
his feet in right paths, while Jube, proud of his
young master, faithful and devoted in his ser-
vice, was ever his right hand.

40

VI
CHURCH AND MEETING

By the time the years had slipped along the
string of the century till fifty were counted,
many daring spirits had broken ground and set
their dwellings on various hills and in the for-
ests, so shortly before the home of only the na-
tive beasts and children. Civilization sent its
smoke heavenward and opened shaded places to
the light and warmth of sunny skies; the paths
were no longer those pressed by tread of
moccasin, but the iron-shod horse and ox
wore the grass from the soil, and highways that
mark the white man threaded the forests and
wound between the cultivated fields. But few
Indian names remained, the Yankee preferring
those more significant to himself.

Repton, or " Ripton," as with supreme indif-
ference to vowel sounds it became, included in

41

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

those years a large district, and its principal and
central settlement was " the Centre " for all the
outlying branches. Like most New England
villages, it was clustered about a green, a long
narrow triangle in form, which was indeed the
very heart of that centre — its discipline, its con-
science, its faith. At the northern end — the
base of the triangle — stood whipping-post and
stocks, a little stretch of green lay between
them and the meeting-house, which, on the
other side, was separated by a school-house from
the church; the church was in an upper corner
of the graveyard, the church-people being
buried near the walls they loved, the meeting-
folk beyond, and the slaves against the farther
fence. In fact, this green was an epitome of
human life as conceived at that day, starting
with total depravity, symbolized in whipping-
post and stocks, through school and church, by
lesson, prayer, and psalm, down to the grave,
the common end of all.

If a bird's-eye view could be vouchsafed of one
of those far-away Sunday mornings, it would
show a net-work of roads crossing, binding, sur-
rounding, the successions of hills, ridges, and val-

42

CHURCH AND MEETING

leys, and from the various localities, from Bag-
burn and Barn Hill, from Moose Hill and Wal-
nut Tree Hill, from Booth's Hill and Long Hill,
from Corum and The Landing, from Paul's
Pound and Fool's Hatch, from Isinglass and
Trap-fall, from Pishponk and Hammertown, from
Turkey Roost and Knells' Rocks, from all points
of the compass, the face of man and beast turned
toward " the Centre." Distances were often
great, but Time was then a slave, not a master,
and, taken by the forelock, four or six miles
of jog-trot or easy pacing might well be ac-
complished. The meeting-house was a plain,
barrack-Hke structure in exterior, but the in-
terior, with its large square pews, was not un-
inviting. The pulpit was high, with a sounding-
board above it, and the deacon's seat below,
before which was an adjustable shelf serving
for the communion table. The pews had very
high backs, showing only the heads of the oc-
cupants, and with seats on the four sides. The
seat next the aisle was short, being broken by
the door, and the one facing the pulpit being
naturally the seat of honor, the other side seat
and that with the back to the pulpit were the

43

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

last to be occupied. As the feeble and aged
naturally sought support when standing during
the long prayer, the custom arose of turning
from the pulpit in order to rest the hand on the
back of the seat.

The choir occupied the middle gallery, seats
being assigned to the slaves in the side galleries,
men and women sitting on different sides.

The church was also an unpretentious build-
ing, nearly square, with a bell-tower and pointed
windows. The pews and galleries were like
those in the meeting-house, and the pulpit was
the very high " three-decker " with reading-desk
below it, and the altar below that. In both
houses of worship the music was led by a
chorister, who, having found the key in which
the chant or psalm was to be sung, sounded the
note on his wooden pitch-pipe, then, those sing-
ing the different parts being properly grouped,
wdth a bow to each set of men-singers and
women-singers, he gave to each the desired note
for air, counter, bass, and tenor; then all sounded
their individual notes in unison, and then started
the psalm for the congregation to follow. The
pitch-pipe remained in use till the tuning-fork

44

CHURCH AND MEETING

was invented, that giving place early in this
century to a bassoon in the church, and a bass-
viol in the meeting-house, until organs sup-
planted both.

The sermon was the chief intellectual feast of
the time, and some of those that have reached
the hand of to-day are written on a score or less
of small pages, 4x6 inches in size, stitched to-
gether with a thread of linen or of blue yarn —
mere headings for discourses t'hat must have
held their hearers through a long hour. It was
an age of thought, not of research, and the
preacher, however great his power, or loved in
person, must recognize the fact that a jury of
deep-t*hinking hearers would sit in judgment
upon any tinge of unorthodoxy, any letting-up
on doctrine or pulling-down of standard; that
the word spoken must be like apples of gold in
pictures of silver.

The mind of the day was argumentative.
Each man thought his own thoughts and longed
to measure them with others. So much manual
employment gave opportunity for reflection, and
the comparative isolation made argument, when
opportunity offered, natural and welcome. The

45

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

Sunday sermons were the event of the week,
and the legitimate subjects for comment, for crit-
icism or approval. A knotty point was a ker-
nel for meditation and discussion, and woe to
the preacher who imagined his people napping
when he tripped in a statement!

Women and men were alike interested in
these subjects, for, although the New England
ministers, who were really the public educators,
had, since the days of Anne Hutchinson's defi-
ance, discouraged the instruction of women in
more than reading and writing, their minds, as
alert and interested as those of the men, were
not a whit behind in their measure and judg-
ment. And it was this absorbing interest -n
sacred things, this centering of the mind on
questions pertaining to eternity, that gave to
them, as Emerson said, " that refinement which
no education and no habit of society can bestow,
that delicacy and grandeur of bearing which be-
long to a mind accustomed to celestial conversa-
tion." "Beauty cannot be separated from the

eternal."

46

VII

THE SUNDAY OUTING

The Church had had a hard struggle to gain
a foothold in the New England colonies. The
Churchman as well as the Puritan was moved
by the spirit of adventure — " the vent which
Destiny offers " — and to prove the promise of
gain in a new country. That the Puritan
brought with him, to exercise toward the
Baptist, the Quaker, the Churchman, the same
spirit of intolerance from which he fled, was
part of humanity's circumference and sure to
appear as the wheel turned. The Churchman
accepted the situation, taking his children to the
meeting-house for baptism, and joining the
Half-way Covenant, until the keenest edge of
Puritanism had been worn down and he was
allowed to build and to worship according to his
desires. But a barrier remained. Church-folk

47

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

and meeting-folk drew apart, though the gulf
was often bridged by matrimonial alliances, mar-
riage, whether resulting from a random shot or
a nice adjustment of the balances, being always
a leveller of distinctions.

The Church which the elder Daniel was In-
strumental in planting in Ripton grew in power,
his children to the third and fourth generations
being blessed by its offices, serving also in turn
among its chief supporters. Its first permanent
rector, the Rev. Christopher Newton, having
gone to England in 1755, as all must at that time,
to receive Episcopal ordination, lived out a long
life among his flock, and the meeting-house had,
for over fifty years, in the Rev. Jedediah Mills,
no less saintly or beloved a pastor.

There seems an irony of fate in the fact that,
despite Puritan prejudice, in part of Connecti-
cut at least, a custom obtained for several gen-
erations of calling the Church clergyman
" parson " and the one at the meeting-house
" priest.'' The cause is unsolved, but " Parson
Newton " and " Priest Mills " were familiar
terms of those far-off years.

The regular church-rate was two pence on the

48

THE SUNDAY OUTING

pound of the individual's tax-list, or its equiva-
lent in any of the necessaries of living at their
market value. A minister's saddle-bags might
bring home from a parochial visit part of a pa-
rishoner's dues in cheese or vegetables, or a load
of hickory wood left at his door served a Uke
purpose. Mr. Mills's salary was at first fifty
pounds a year, " to be increased as the society
became able to do so." In 1800 the salary of the
rector of the Episcopal church was fixed at
" one hundred pounds lawful money and forty
loads of wood."

Fierce must be the elements or decided the
physical weakness that diverted master or mis-
tress, child or slave, from the Sunday outing.
And save under stress of storm, those living be-
yond the Centre found the journey itself not
devoid of interest. The jog-trot by a neighbor's
side, the chance meetings at cross-roads which
might hold charm for the young people, the easy
canter to overtake the sturdy farmer with a de-
mure damsel behind him on a pillion, who was
recognized from afar; the lagging behind,
whether a-foot or a-horseback, as the hill-road

and its riders were plainly seen; the chance, un-

49

THE SALT-^BOX HOUSE

trammelled by one's own affairs, to measure
those of others, the fields of grain, the cord-wood
piled, the house a-building; and from many a
turn in the various roads a glimpse far or near
of the blue Sound and the white shore of Long
Island, with sometimes a whiff of salt-breeze as
if the scudding sails had sent it. There were
greetings before the church-porch, assiduous as-
sisting to alight at the convenient horse-block,
and subdued chuckles as the negroes flashed
their eyes in recognition. Then in the solemn
hours of service, though children might fidget
and tithing-men be active in keeping lawless
spirits restrained, priest and parson were para-
mount, teaching, leading, inspiring attentive
souls, fervent themselves and rousing fervor in
others.

The churches were cold, but the theology,
especially in the meeting-house, was hot.
" Coal-scuttle bonnets " and foot-stoves had not
" come in." The women all wore hoods, thicker
or thinner according to season, which were
thrown back during the service. In the church
the collection was received on pewter plates re-
served for the purpose; in the meeting-house

50

THE SUNDAY OUTING

the deacons spread their bandanna handker-
chiefs over their tall hats and received therein
the alms of the faithful.

The Sunday nooning for those who came from
far, with generous luncheon baskets always car-
ried on the left arm of paterfamilias as he sat in
the saddle, was spent in winter before a fire in
the " Sabba-day house," directly back of the
meeting-house, or in summer beneath the
primeval oak standing on the green, whose wide
branches could shelter threescore or more, or
wandering in the churchyard among graves old
and new.

To Thaddeus and his small family the Sunday
journey was ever welcome, for the assured meet-
ing of brothers and their wives, whose homes
lay eight or ten rough miles apart, was a joyful
anticipation. And the widow Elizabeth in her
old age could sometimes see from her place in
the square pew every one of the dear sons with
their good wives, Joseph and Mary his wife,
Daniel and Mary his wife, Thaddeus and Esther,
Samuel and Abigail, James and Anna, while by
her side were Josiah, her youngest born, and

Eunice his wife, with their little Charity.

51

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

The service over, there were happy greetings
and much interchange of news of each other's
welfare, counsel to be asked of the wiser
mothers, and tidings of far-off friends and kin-
dred, and often in the long summer days Thad-
deus, with Esther behind him and little Daniel
astride a small pillow laid in front of the saddle,
made a happy trio to join the family dinner at
one of the other houses, ere they took the longer

road home before the twilight.

52

VIII

WHEN THE HEIR CAME OF AGE.

In 1756 young Daniel came of age, a very tall
and very slim youth, with the dark hair and gray
eyes of his race showing from under the beaver
hat which was the badge of manhood. For that
day he was well educated, his mother's teaching
being supplemented by the instruction of the
winter terms at the district school during several
years, and he had struggled alone during long
winter evenings with Ward's " The Young
Mathematician's Guide, in 5 Parts, Arithmetick
Vulgar and Decimal with all the useful Rules,
and a General Method of Extracting the Roots
of all Single Powers. Algebra or Arithmetick
in Species; wherein the Method of Raising and
Resolving Equations is rendered Easy. Also
the Business of Interest and Annuities per-
formed by the Pen. The Elements of Geome-

53

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

try Contracted and Analytically Demonstrated;
Conick Sections. The Arithmetick of Affinities
Explained and rendered easy. With an appen-
dix of Practical Guaging."

He delighted also in Martin's Grammar of
Philosophy that taught in Rollo-book fashion,
by dialogue, " The Present State of Experi-
mental Physiology or Natural Philosophy in 4
Parts. Somatology, Cosmology, Aerology, and
Geology," the book being well illustrated, its
subjects covering the animal kingdom, the celes-
tial bodies, the muscular processes, the diatonic
scale, and others, with touches like the follow-
ing:

" Pray, Sir, what do you mean by Electric-
ity? "

" A certain kind of attractive Faculty peculiar
to some Bodies, as Amber, Jet, Sealing Wax,
Glass, etc., whose Particles are such that being
greatly rarified and agitated (by the Heat oc-
casioned by attrition or Rubbing of them) they
fly off to a certain small Distance, but not be-
yond the Sphere of the Body's Attraction; and
therefore by this Attraction they are obHged to

return again to their old Quarters." A note ex-

54

WHEN THE HEIR CAME OF AGE

plains further that " Electricity consists of fine
invisible Effluvia supposed to be of an unctuous
or oily Nature, which are excited by Attrition,"
and experiments with a glass-tube are given,
explaining also that '' Tersion or Wiping is also
necessary as well as Attrition to procure Elec-
tricity; for this frees the Pores for the better
emission of the Effluvia. If the Fingers be
moved nimbly near the Tube, as if you meant
to strike it in a direction perpendicular to its
axis, the Effluvia will be heard to snap against
the Fingers, or against the Tube, Hke the Crack-
ling of a green Leaf in the Fire, but not so loud."
For the laws of speech, that period, as did
nearly all the century, showed much indif-
ference, and had not the great Lord Bacon said
that English was an unfit vehicle to bear a
scholar's work to posterity? Spelling was
phonetic, for which each man might formulate
his own system — or systems — as spelling Indian^
" Injun," to-day, was no reason why it might
not be " Ingen " or even " Ingon " to-morrow.
" Cichon " served sometimes for kitchen, " A Par
of Soels for his Shouse " was readily understood,
and even proper names were subject to varia-

55

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

tions. Grammar, never taught in the district-
schools until the latter part of the century, suf-
fered also from too many standards of usage,
and those who would attain the purest ideal
were hampered by the contagion of customs less
exact.

Daniel was learned also in the practical side
of life. He could direct all labor required
by the soil and its products, and, if necessary,
set his own hand to the work, and he had a
keen sense of the value of what the land pro-
duced, proving the recompense of the colonial
commerce. Every large land-holder of the day
was not a mere farmer, but a man of affairs; he
was exporter and importer as well as agricul-
turist, and, in a small degree, merchant also.
The owner of wide acres could accommodate a
smaller neighbor with grain for seed, or grind-
ing, and his slaves might be hired by the day,
as might also his " five-cattle team " (two yokes
of oxen and a horse) for drawing timber, or his
*' jade " (mare) to go to mill. And, taking ad-
vantage of the colonists' chief pecuniary benefit,
the West India trade, by which alone hard cash
came to the colonies — England keeping the bal-

56

WHEN THE HEIR CAME OF AGE

ance of trade on her side in the exchange oi
American products for her own manufactures,
and imports from other countries — he could af-
ford to import a hogshead of rum or of molasses,
and would he not willingly dispense it to his
neighbors by quart or gallon? Trouble never
entered into the consideration; and when one
man killed a calf, a sheep, or a " critter " (beef),
he divided the fresh meat with his neighbor, who
in turn divided with him. A lone widow must
have her garden ploughed and other heavy work
done by his slaves. For many of these accounts
the daily tally was kept in chalk, on the dark
side of the door at the head of the cellar stairs,
but all sooner or later were recorded in the long
narrow account-books, that, having safely floated
down the stream of years, testify in their fashion
to much of the daily life. In many instances the
accounts were kept in one book, for both parties,
the " Dr." and " Contra " pages facing, where
the blacksmith's account for shoeing horses and
oxen, for making tires and hinges, " puling a
tuth " (tooth) or " up-seting a Ax " is set
against bushels of turnips, of corn or wheat,

hours of labor, etc., with an occasional balancing,

57

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

giving " resete in full for all aCompts from
the Beginning of the World to this day," duly-
signed by both parties. Sometimes an entry
reads — " Then reckoned with A. B. and bal-
lanced all aCompts from the beginning of the
World to this Day and find there is Due me
Seven Shillings and Six Pence as witness our
hands "; or *' Compared books with Jonas Peck
and witness our hands " : — signed by both
parties.

Thaddeus had largely increased his acres,
clearing wide tracts, which rendered a return of
sure value for export. Civilization held more
and more in its hand for the pioneers in this wil-
derness. Tea had come into use, and the tiny
China tea-cups were dear to every woman's
heart, and Esther had her share of everything
furnished by the stores in Ripton and by those
of Derby and New Haven.

Daniel, the son of her love and pride, was of
age. Marriage was desirable, but there were
heart-burnings lest his choice be not to her mind.
Rank, though unnamed, was none the less a real-
ity, but even princes had been known to wed

unwisely. Thaddeus and she had long before

58

WHEN THE HEIR CAME OF AGE

decided upon his start in life. Esther herself had
chosen the site for the great house that should
be built for this their darling and their only heir.
On the crest of a hill commanding a far outlook
north, and east, and south, was a wide plateau,
flanked east and south by a rocky breastwork.
It was about half a mile from their own home,
the road winding through a grove, despoiled of
its heavy timber but shaded with young birches
and maples, with oaks and chestnuts, and lead-
ing past green meadows and well-tilled fields.

Esther cast an anxious or an interested glance
at this or that maiden to whom her son showed
some courtesy, or whose society he sought.
Once they had made a memorable journey, she
on pillion behind her tall son, to her dear old
home in Glastonbury, hoping, as in her own case,
that the young man's fancy might see in some
fair kinswoman an irresistible charm. But his
heart lay deep, and no glance or word stirred it,
until he neared his twenty-second year. Then,
despite that potent factor in match-making,
" the mighty goddess of propinquity," and the
fact that novelty charms but custom endears, de-
spite the power of adjoining acres in tightening

59

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

bonds, it was not a maiden of the hill-country
but one down in Stratford village, a small, fair,
seventeen-year-old Mary that held the power.
So he bent himself before her, and sued for the
prize; and her hand was placed in his, and her
love and fealty sworn, and the foundations were
laid for the great house, while Mary embroid-
ered her wedding finery and the elder people
held conclave over the plenishing.

IX

THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE

Ambition's hour had arrived. In the neces-
sities of the pioneer, it is first the axe, then the
saw-mill. In 1725, two of Stratford's prominent
citizens received permission from the General
Court at Hartford to erect a saw-mill on the
Half- Way River, which separated the northern
part of this far-reaching township from its
neighbor, Newtown. This mill was soon supple-
mented by another, on the " nere sprayne " of
the Far-Mill River, which, from its source in a
swamp among these upper hills, quickly gained
power and volume suf^cient to turn a wheel.
The increase of householders brought skilful
workmen to the hill-tops, and the time had come
when fancy could have play in panel and mould-
ing, in curves and turnings, for although the

reigning fashion made the exterior of even this

61

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

great house neither graceful nor attractive, in
the interior at least the practical might be sup-
plemented by the ornamental.

So, the cellar being dug and foundations laid,
the great chimney, twelve feet square at its base,
grew like an obelisk from those depths, out
above the line of earth, overlooking it, and
reaching upward toward the skies.

The timbers for the house had been cut and
dressed in the forest. The house was set close
to the ground, the foundation-walls reaching
just above the greensward, and on them were
placed the foot-square oak-sills, bearing at least
two centuries of endurance in their fibre. At
the corners square beams stood upright, these
being held by the line of " girths " at the next
story, and others again by the " plates " that
marked the line of the garret-floor, from which
the rafters would reach the ridge-pole. It was
a " plank-house," as were all of that period, the
sides being made entirely of wide planks, two
inches thick, standing upright side by side.

The raising of a house was a function at
which all friends and neighbors '' assisted " in
two senses of the word, for the skill and strength

62

THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE

of many hands were required to raise and set
in place the heavy beams and planks, and to
drive the wooden pins " home " with prompt-
ness and precision. The upright planks were
usually but the length of one story, being fast-
ened to sill and girth, and a second length to
girth and plate, but this house of houses bore in
its giant skeleton some planks that reached from
ground to ridge-pole, thirty feet at least, and
the muscle of young manhood, white and black,
was put to the test.

There was feasting, with merry-making, cider
and " winkum" and Santa Cruz rum, that passed
from hand to hand in tankard and pint-pot, with
" raising-cake " and other appropriate viands
in limitless supply. And there were women
and men, old and young, to tender a hearty
greeting and well-wishing. For it was known
that the land was staked, and the deed would
soon be drawn, and the wedding-day but waited
for the finishing of the work so bravely begun.

The house raised and planked was further fin-
ished, first by filling all possible cracks between
the planks with mortar and then clapboarded.

Inside, laths, riven by hand from oak timber,

63

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

were nailed to the planks with hand-made nails.
The chimney grew taller and taller, with well-
planned flues that promised comfort. Shell-lime
for the mortar was brought up the steep road
from Stratford, and plasterers left white walls.
The joiner placed the fine panelled partitions, the
mantel-pieces with fluted pilasters and curving
shelves, pretty wooden cornices around all the
best rooms, and flutings in accord on window
and door casings. And there were built cup-
boards in odd places, around the great chimney,
and under the staircases; for, although closets
for hanging up clothing had hardly been
dreamed of, in shelves without number behind
doors of glass, or panel, the house was trium-
phant.

The barns were built also, opening on the
highway, and reaching out long, sloping roofs
to cover a full harvest. The wells were dug,
one, under cover of the house, an " up-and-
down," the rope passing over a large wooden
wheel, and bearing one bucket; the other near
the barn, with the long " sweep " balanced at
its earthly end by a large stone.

The plan of the house varied little from most
64

THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE

of its style. The front-door faced the south, thus
bringing a gable-end to the highway at the west,
and it was set back from the road about twenty
feet. The front-door swung on long hinges,
and across its top were set five square panes of
glass that let in the sunlight on the pretty wind-
ing staircase. The '' living-room," " one rod
square," opened on the right from the short hall
or entry, and between it and the chimney was
the fine panelled partition reaching over the
mantel-piece and across that side of the room.
A door led into the long kitchen and another
into the bed-room, the invariable apartment of
master and mistress.

From the left of the entry opened the other
front room, the parlor, also one rod square, with
plastered walls, fine mouldings and panellings,
and with a door opening toward the road; from
the room at the rear of this a similar panelled
door led outward also.

The long kitchen was always one of the most
important rooms in the house. The opening
of the fireplace was nine feet wide and five feet
high, its sloping sides leaving room for a four-
foot log at the back, and near their outer edge,

65

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

a place for seats, the delight of the children of
the household.

Beyond the bedroom the house reached out
an L for the butt'ry and pantries; corresponding
to it, at the other side of the rear of the house,
was the " end kitchen." Between these two the
large kitchen-door opened, leading over the flat
doorstone to the garden that blossomed be-
tween the house and barns.

Wide and deep and high, the house finally
stood complete. The window-panes reflected
the light of the rising and setting sun; hinge and
latch and lock were in place, and a bright red
paint, with white for the window-sashes, and all
the outer doors painted green, made it fitting
to welcome a bride.

A low fence of flat pickets divided the door-
yard from the highway; in it two gates opened,
one showing the way over the grass to the front
door, the other, leading by a row of stones
scarcely a foot wide, so narrow that a maiden's
tread would barely escape the morning dew, to
one of the green doors facing the road.

The deed of gift was duly drawn, signed, and
recorded: " Know all men by these presents,

66

THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE

that I ... for the consideration of the love and

affection I bear my son, ... a certain tract of

land, with the house and buildings thereon . . .

beginning at the highway near my present

house, at a crotched walnut-tree with a stone

laid in the crotch, running easterly ... to a

group of chestnut spires, then south ... to a

pepperidge tree, then west ... to a heap of

stones by a poplar pole, then north ... to the

crotched walnut-tree ... to him and his heirs

forever."

67

THE HOUSEHOLD PLENISHING

The furnishing was, in great measure, the
part of the bride's parents, and constituted her
dower. It was generous for the times, usually
amounting with people of the best class to £200,
and the record proves that blue-eyed Mary did
not go to the great house empty handed.*

Stratford furnished a good cabinet-maker, and,
although fashion changed there less frequently
than in the larger towns, where the influence of
competition and direct communication with
England produced more elaborate articles, yet
the well-seasoned wild-cherry, carefully worked,
made furnishings that remain a prize even in
modern life. For London pewter and brass-
ware, Holland linen, chintz for " curtlns," and
" costly " coverlids, as well as " Cheaney-Tea-
* Appendix 297.
63

THE HOUSEHOLD PLENISHING

Dishes," Mary's father sent by the renowned
Captain Stephen Burroughs — accomplished
mathematician and astronomer as well as navi-
gator— who sailed with such regularity as wind
and wave would permit, from a safe harbor in
the Pequonnock River (now within the city of
Bridgeport) for Boston, New York and other
ports, and whose ability in exchanging colonial
products into money, and investing it with good
taste, was to be trusted. And he must carry
also a certain amount of current coin to be con-
verted into spoons and " tea-tongs," cream-pot
and tankard, by Paul Revere's father, or some
other silversmith.

Captain Burroughs had a still more responsi-
ble position to fill, as materials for the wedding-
garments must come from the great seaport,
and his commission was for blue satin damask
for the bride's gown, with slippers in harmony,
belt ribbons, white silk stockings, and long white
silk gloves; and there must be store of velvet
and poplin and gauze, of flowered calico from
India, and russet and drugget and other woolen
stufTs, besides lace, and a fan, and such acces-
sories. Nor did Thaddeus fail to secure these

69

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

important services for the bridegroom, whose
suit required imported broadcloth, with buck-
ram to line the skirts that they might stand out
bravely, skeins of silk, and sticks of twist and
hair for the button-holes, shalloon for lining,
and four dozen silver buttons to shine like stars,
gay brocade for a vest, white silk stockings, new
knee and shoe buckles, and above all, the wed-
ding-ring.

The house-linen was largely home-made,
'* linen " always signifying that, while " hol-
land *' meant whatever was imported. Home-
made table-cloths were of diaper patterns,
two widths, a yard wide, sewed together. Hol-
land furnished the better ones. Hollow iron
and earthen ware were of colonial manufacture,
and the local cooper and wood-worker supplied
the necessary pails, tubs, churns, bowls, trays,
and trenchers.

There were unwritten laws regarding the

furnishing, for custom, while assigning to the

damsel the supply of beds and bedding, even to

the curtains and valances, decreed to the lord

of the manor the duty of procuring the bedsteads

themselves, and Daniel Hkewise provided the tall

70

THE HOUSEHOLD PLENISHING

clock that measured the hours from its corner
of the living-room; a desk with drawers below
the slanting top, and a well-concealed secret
compartment; a " great chair " for his own use,
and the " great Bible " with the Book of Com-
mon Prayer bound in the front, and a small com-
mentary at the back, while between the several
divisions were blank pages to be covered, as
years swept by, with records of births, marriages,
and deaths.

Like all maidens of the day, Mary had accumu-
lated in her linen-chest a store of necessaries,
having spun the flax and wool, and there was
now added such quantity as completed a proper
" setting-out." Her pride had vent also in the
fine embroideries that colonial dames and maid-
ens, like those of all ages, loved. Neck-hand-
kerchiefs and rufifles were wrought with marvel-
lous stitches, and a long band of fine white linen
was worked with many soft-colored crewels, in a
trailing pattern of vines, flowers, and butterflies,
that would make the petticoat it was to border
the envy of all beholders. And when the stitches
were all set, and the wedding-day arrived, where
could be found a braver bride and bridegroom?

71

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

DanieFs claret-colored broadcloth coat, stiff of
skirt, deep of cuff, and bright with two long
rows of silver buttons, a long vest of green bro-
cade, and the richness of velvet breeches; white
silk stockings, large silver buckles on the low
shoes, and powdered hair, braided and tied at the
neck with a ribbon; while Mary in the blue
damask gown that shaded to match her eyes,
belted by a white ribbon strewn with peacock
feathers woven in gold thread, and a narrower
ribbon of the same pattern to band her fair locks,
gold beads about her white throat, and on her
pretty feet white silk stockings and high-heeled,
sharply-pointed slippers of blue, brocaded with
pink rosebuds — made a bride fit for the sun to
shine on.

And Thaddeus in a blue coat, heavy with the
great silver buttons of the elder Daniel, did
honor to the occasion, while Esther renewed her
youth, as she took her place among the guests
in the bravery of a new silk crape gown, with
a lace-trimmed lawn kerchief, and the twist of
her hair held by a silver " hair-peg/*

Wedding festivities were usually prolonged

several days, that all one's acquaintances might

72

THE HOUSEHOLD PLENISHING

be able to offer their good wishes, and the bride
always remained at her own home, even if it
were for months, until the bridegroom's house
should be ready.

No one felt the responsibility of the wedding
preparations more than the faithful Jube, and
his own importance was sensibly increased, as it
proved to be his wedding-season also. Hav-
ing observed " the weather-signs of love " in his
master, and soon learning which of the young
colored women would be assigned to Mary on
her marriage, he began to look upon the dusky
damsel as his rightful property, and made plans
for his own marriage which were heartily
seconded by master and mistress. So, on the
day when the removal to the hill-top was to be
made there was again a flurry of wedding-
breezes, and, standing in the long kitchen of
Mary's old home, the vows of Jube and 'Mandy
were plighted.

To take from the valley, to a height so much
nearer the sky, the heavy furniture of the day,
with no better conveyance than the two-wheeled
ox-cart, required care and skill. Hay and straw
supplied packing, but the roads were rough and

73

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

rocky and the pitches steep and crooked. The
transport was, however, finally accomplished,
the great chests of drawers, pieces de resistance
indeed, the tall clock, the high-backed chairs, the
linen chests and the various tables were, with
many a " Haw! '* and " Gee! " at last in place.

The last load was driven by Jube, with his
bride perched among the tubs and pails and big
brass kettles. Dorcas, with her own share of
pride, welcomed them and kissed her daughter-
in-law, while Esther watched from the south
window of the best front room, looking over
a bunch of the white Star of Bethlehem she
had placed in a shining pewter pint-pot on the
window-sill, for the first sign of her dear children
as they came down the road.

Thus the household gods were set in order
and the fire lighted on the altar of a new hearth-
stone, and faith and love poised their wings in
benediction over the new life, the new home and
family.

The days drifted into weeks, and the coming
and going of seasons found the new house a
centre of happiness, of duties, of out-going Hfe
and power, and of interior comfort. By the time

74

THE HOUSEHOLD PLENISHING

the year had swung around another voice was
lifted under the roof, for a young Thaddeus
opened his eyes upon them, and parents and
grandparents rejoiced. Then a brother was
born to him, little Benjamin, and Esther's yearn-
ing heart leaped as she, the mother of but one
child, said "A troop cometh! " And so it
proved, for the years made a brave record, as
these two were followed by Jeremiah, Esther,
Gershom, William, Isaiah, Gloriana, and Vic-
tory.

Gloriana, born in 1771, received a name of
note, for early in that year, down in Stratford vil-
lage, a blacksmith's young daughter, the beauti-
ful Gloriana Folsom, had been wooed and won
by a travelling stranger, Mr. John Stirling, no
less a personage than the son of a Scotch baro-
net, on the death of whom, twenty years later,
the son succeeding to the title, Gloriana be-
came the Baroness Stirling.* This marriage
caused a great commotion in the little sea of
Stratford life, and the baby born on the hill-top
was dowered with the name of the great beauty.

The name of Victory had a meaning even be-
*Orcutt's "History of Old Stratford."
75

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

yond Gloriana^s, or of those elder ones who bore
ancestral honors, it being that of a cousin whose
baptism is thus recorded:

" On the 8th of September, 1760, Montreal,
Mackinac, Detroit, and all other places within
the government of Canada were surrendered to
his ' Britannic Majesty,' and the long French
war came to an end. On a Sunday morning
soon after, as an infant was being carried to the
meeting-house at Ripton for baptism, and to re-
ceive a name that had been borne by one of the
elder members of the family, a courier from the
back settlements on the Hudson came riding up,
waving a white flag, and shouting ' Victory!
Victory! Victory! ' For a moment he drew rein
at the steps of the meeting-house, while he told
the pastor, the Rev. Jedediah Mills, and the peo-
ple, the story of the great victory of the Eng-
lish. To every one who heard it the tidings
seemed as if from death to life.

" When the courier had vanished, to carry the
news to the next town, the congregation gath-
ered in the meeting-house for worship and
thanksgiving, but before these could proceed the

child must be baptized. The aged minister, dip-

76

THE HOUSEHOLD PLENISHING

ping his hand in the water, and placing it on the
child's forehead, forgot apparently the family
name it was to bear, and said, ' Victory, I baptize
thee/ "

77

XI

SUPPLYING THE FAMILY NEEDS

In these days of rapid transit and easy inter-
communication, it is hard to realize the life lived
on the upper hills, when intercourse with the
world was obtained only by toiling over rough
roads, and waiting for uncertain breezes to fill
the sails of small sloops and schooners, that,
from river and Sound landings made their way
from one port to another. This isolation, how-
ever, gave character to the life. Every house
was not only its own. centre, but almost its
own circumference. A man's acres must sup-
ply fuel, food, and clothing, and his increase of
revenue came from the sale of his surplus. The
great body of the colonists were " planters," or
agriculturists perforce; the few professional men,

merchants, and seamen left a large residue

78

SUPPLYING THE FAMILY NEEDS

whose energies England confined to the cultiva-
tion of land, and the development of the wilder-
ness. The needs of a family that imply
handiwork were supplied by a method called
" whipping-the-cat," craftsmen of various trades
doing the required work from house to house.
Every well-to-do householder had a shoemaker's
bench and tools; the heavier leather was tanned
and dressed on his own premises, and he bought,
through Captain Burroughs or some one else,
the finer grades. So the shoemaker came and
made shoes for all the family, from master to
slave; the tailor came and made the clothing, the
cooper came to do the necessary " hooping "
and repairs; and the ox-carts, ploughs and other
farm implements were made and mended by
those trained in the work, who, for the time
being, were members of the family.

Flax, grown and dressed through a long pro-
cess of rotting, drying, crackling, swingling, and
hetcheling, was finally ready for spinning, the
tow also, a heavier fibre of the same product,
being of use for coarse articles. Wool sheared
from a man's well-washed sheep was carded at
home, until carding-mills were established to

79

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

prepare it for the trained hands that spun it.
Nearly all large houses had a'weaving-room, and
a weaver came to sit before the loom, and turn
into yards of cloth the threads already spun.
Woolen cloths were sent to ai fulling-mill to be
fulled and dressed, but the lin^n was bleached at
home, being well sprinkled, as it lay on the grass
under the May sun, first witlj )veak lye and then
with water, several times d^ily. *

The accessories of a larg;^,tr.Jiouse were many.
In addition to the slaves' hoiisfe were the smoke-
house, where hams and sicjes of bacon, tongues
and long strips of beef would gain sweetness,
and be preserved for the winter's tise; the long
wood-piles and sheds; and the great caboose ket-
tle, an immense iron pot set in a stone frame-
work, with place for a fire beneath it, wherein
certain foods for pigs and young cattle were
prepared, soap was made, etc. And lye, so im-
portant for the yearly bleaching and soap-mak-
ing, was obtained by placing a barrel, whose
bottom was well perforated by auger-holes, on a
framework over a tub, the barrel being partly
filled with ashes from the hearth, on which water

was poured to trickle slowly through them.

80

SUPPLYING THE FAMILY NEEDS

Everything was at hand and of use; nothing
was wasted or destroyed. Idleness on the part
of master or mistress, child or slave, was not
countenanced; it was disreputable. And this
life, with its limited horizon, its necessities, in-
ventions and peculiar opportunities, bred a high
degree of individualism, and — as extremes meet
— the same sort of independence that is a mark
of the cosmopolitan, self-consciousness being
bred in the atmosphere of small towns, as self-
satisfaction is in small cities.

With this individualism, the principle of " live
and let live " made part of the duty to one's
neighbor, but simple and direct as the life was,
it was also interdependent. Not, however, the
complex modern net-work, when, no matter how
earnest and straightforward the start, it is sure
to be seized, knotted, and turned aside, now by
the thin thread of a social fad, now by the
heavier weight of a world-wide power; but each
life was a thread in a cable, and when the call to
arms came, it was that straightforward purpose,
that sense of individual responsibility, though
standing shoulder to shoulder, each one acting
as if he were the whole, that gave the untrained

8i

1^1^^

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

militia a power far beyond that of men who fear

to step until they have fitted their feet to their

neighbors' footsteps.

8a

XII

THE DAILY LIFE

In 1773 the child of a few days old was taken
on the Sunday following his birth, as all his
brothers and sisters had been, to the church at
Ripton to be received " into the congregation of
Christ's flock," and be signed " with the sign of
the cross," by the Rev. Christopher Newton,
and to be given his cousin's name, Victory. As
Daniel presented the child at the altar, on which
was placed a bright pewter basin to serve as a
font, the group of children, from young Thad-
deus, who had reached the mature age of fifteen
years, down to little four-year-old Isaiah, made
a brave showing, standing in the large family
pew, hushed and awesome, even more than was
their wont in the sacred edifice. And the lesson
of the service was still further impressed on their

young hearts, as at the hour of family prayer the

83

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

thanksgiving from the office of the morning,
" We yield Thee hearty thanks, most merciful
Father, that it hath pleased Thee to regenerate
these children with Thy Holy Spirit, and to re-
ceive them for Thine own children by adoption
and grace, and to incorporate them into Thy
Holy Church," was added to the customary
supplications.

The service of family worship was held im-
mediately after supper. The family being as-
sembled in the living-room — Daniel in his
" great chair " before the fire at one side of the
eandle-stand, which stood opposite the centre
of the fireplace, and Mary in her " Ottoman
chair," a lower arm-chair, at the other side of
the small table, with the youngest child in her
lap, the others in their seats by the wide chim-
ney, and the slaves standing in the long kitchen
with the communicating door open — the master
of the house read a chapter from the Bible, and
then, all standing, he read the prayers, or from
a mind well stored with petitions from the beau-
tiful liturgy, " made " intercession and thanks-
giving befitting the day, and then all, white and

black, repeated in unison the Lord's own prayer.

84

THE DAILY LIFE

And often, before the younger children were
tucked away in their trundle-beds, they were
shown the illustrations in the big Bible, some-
times calling the Httle darkies to share the pleas-
ure, and were told the stories, ever old, ever
new.

" Grace before meat " was said standing, and
those children too large to be held in a mother's
lap at table, but not large enough to eat com-
fortably from the ordinary chairs, stood during
the meals. The table was set in the living-room,
the large round pewter platters, the quart, two-
quart and gallon basins, and the plates, making
the dinner service, and as the pewter was kept
shining like silver, the table bore an air of lux-
ury not always realized now. Pewter pint-pots
and smaller mugs and tumblers were the drink-
ing vessels, salt-cellars were of the same brilliant
metal, and a pepper-pot might be also, or
possibly of delft. Porringers with pretty handles
served the little children; spoons of pewter
and silver were used. Wooden trenchers had
their places; forks had come in fashion, as Ben
Jonson said " to the sparing o* napkins," al-
though the custom of holding a ham-bone, or a

85

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

leg of mutton with a napkin while carving, serv-
ing the meat from the point of the carver, was
not entirely abandoned. Cider, or beer, brewed
at home from malt from a convenient malt-
house, were the usual beverages, with milk for
the little children. Tea was still a luxury, and
for state occasions, while coffee and chocolate,
common at the seaports, rarely reached the hill
country.

Meats were boiled, pot-roasted, or baked in
the great oven, and sometimes roasted before
the fire, hanging from a hook on the under-side
of the mantel-shelf, a pan being set on the hearth
to catch the dripping; for viands requiring a
short baking there was an iron *' bake-pan "
on long legs, that could be pushed into the fire,
and under its cover, which was heaped with
coals, biscuits or a loaf of cake baked quickly.
The skillet, a small iron or brass kettle on long
legs, with a stiff horizontal handle, served for
such matters as would require a modern sauce-
pan, its legs permitting it to stand among the
burning coals, and by the fire stood a trivet, a
three-legged brass or iron frame about a foot
high — called sometimes out of New England a

86

THE DAILY LIFE

" footman " — on which could be placed any-
thing it was desired to keep hot.

Flat-irons were heated over coals placed in
an iron box set on a frame, or the iron itself
held a movable compartment in which coals
were put. A great iron kettle with its supply
of hot water, hung ever by a pothook from the
crane.

Tin- ware was confined to a few pieces; fun-
nels, colanders, canisters, and an occasional pan
or cover. Milk was kept for short periods in
bowls turned from the white bass-wood of the
forests, but large earthen milk-pans served a
better purpose. Butter was largely made in
June, being laid down with a sprinkling of white
sugar grated from the sugar-loaf, between the
layers. Cheese was made in the hotter weather,
when keeping a quantity of milk sweet without
ice was impossible, and an ice-house had not
been imagined. For cheese, as for butter, there
was a never-ending market demand. A fall
product, in addition to grains, vegetables, and
fruits, was cider, of which no less than thirty
barrels must stand in the cellar, a portion also
to be converted into cider-brandy, well named,

87

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

locally, " winkum/* as its first noticeable effect
is on the eyes; (a barrel of cider making three
gallons and the distiller taking one gallon as
his " toll "). Four or six beeves and six or
eight hogs must be killed, and turned into
smoked beef and tongues, hams, bacon, salt-
beef and salt-pork, souse and sausages. Pota-
toes were still scarce, buckwheat had not yet
much hold on American soil, but the fields,
gardens and orchards offered large variety,
and not only the coast towns, but the West
Indies also made a sure market for whatever
could be spared of the soil's products or of live-
stock, and for this purpose Daniel built a large
storehouse on a very fertile island in the centre
of Pine Swamp, from which .export might be
made according to season.

Broom-corn was practically unknown, and
carpets, except in great houses by the sea-
board, almost as much so. An occasional rug
found place, but the floors were usually liber-
ally sprinkled with white sea-sand, that on the
" out-rooms " being swept lightly in fanciful pat-
terns by brooms made of corn-husks, fine hem-
lock twigs, sweet-fern branches, or splintered

88

THE DAILY LIFE

white birch sticks, the making of which is said to
have been learned from the Indian. The sand
served to keep the floors clean, absorbing all
soil from " Soels of Shouse,'' and was frequently
swept up, sifted, and used again.

The every-day dress was simple; short gowns
and petticoats were of home-made woolens, and
striped or " chekard " linens, " four and four "
(threads to the check) or Hnsey-woolsey, two
threads of linen to one of wool, this latter ma-
terial making an apron not in danger of burning,
when, in cooking, one bent over the open fire.

The children's clothing was all of homespun
flax or wool, and even the boys' caps were
made in the house. Men's shirts were of linen
and flannel, and for their outer garments, home-
spun cloth fulled at the fulling-mill, and occa-
sionally a little imported broadcloth, must be
ready for the itinerant tailor. The slaves' cloth-
ing must also be provided — tow-cloth and the
rougher fabrics. Leather breeches served mas-
ter and man for rough usage, but castor or
beaver, with silver buttons, was finer wear for
the gentleman.

For knitting stockings of woolen or linen

89

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

" yarns," for mittens and tippets also, the wheels
must spin steadily, and the threads for weav-
ing, after being dyed, were made ready for the
weaver by the twirling of the " quill-wheel," by
which they were wound on short pieces of
goose-quills, that would fit in the shuttle.

The dyes were largely made from imported
woods and indigo, but the native witch-hazel
bark made gray, butternut bark and roots the
yellow-brown butternut color, and the blue
paper that covered the white sugar-loaves gave
a fine purple. The " clouded " yam was pro-
duced by tying rags irregularly about the skeins,
before putting them in the dye-pot, which pre-
vented the dye reaching the white threads thus
protected.

All this varied labor was well superintended
by Daniel and Mary, who, while directing it,
were not obliged to put their hands to what was
rough or mere routine work. The slaves gave
a faithful and devoted service^ — children of na-
ture always, but capable, under wise direction, of
becoming responsible, efficient, and trustworthy.
Jube, naturally at the head of the colored con-
tingent, served and ruled to the satisfaction, of

90

THE DAILY LIFE

both classes. His children grew up about him
and 'Mandy, and the little hands early learned
habits of industry and obedience.

'Mandy, having mastered the secrets of New
England cookery, served from the great fire-
place and from the oven, first the bag pudding
of Indian meal, boiled for several hours till it
gained a ruddy color; this led the mid-day din-
ner; then the meats, boiled or baked, spare-rib,
turkey, goose, or gosling, young pig or leg of
mutton, or the boiled salt-beef, with vegetables,
to be followed by pies, always of two kinds, or
pudding, an Indian pudding with dried apples
or suet in it, or batter-pudding thick with any
of the berries of the season, served with a sauce
made of milk, butter, and molasses. And who
could make as good apple-dumplings, or fritters,
to be eaten with cider and molasses? Pies
served for breakfast were unknown, though gin-
ger-bread or doughnuts might have a place at
that meal. And sweet apples baked in the
deep oven, being put in after everything else
was cooked, and allowed to remain overnight,
gained a rare flavor.

The function in cookery was always that of the
91

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

great oven. When the house was built, bricks
had not come into use in this part of the Colony,
and, like the chimney, the oven was made of
stone. Its iron door was about three feet from
the floor, the open space underneath being
a receptacle for big kettles, or sometimes
for the oven-wood, cut three feet long, which
must be perfectly dry before using. 'Mandy
allowed no one but herself to superintend
the important office of filling the oven with
wood, and lighting it by a shovelful of coals
from the hearth. When the wood had burned
the coals were skilfully taken out with the long-
handled " peel " * and then with a wet broom
made of corn-husks the stones were swept clean.
She put the loaves of bread on the stones, by
means of a flat wooden shovel, and the children,
ever peeping in anticipatory delight, held their
breath as she brought from the butt'ry the pies
that had been waiting behind that closed door,
for 'Mandy*s " baking " began often before cock-
crow. A steady and skilful hand was needed
to place all properly, that each should have the

* French pelle.
92

THE DAILY LIFE

desired amount of heat. The pie-plates were of
brown earthen-ware, rounding and somewhat
unsteady of base, and to place one full of liquid
pumpkin far in the hot recess was well-nigh
impossible. A tin dipper had not cheered a
housewife's eye, and though a gourd might be
used for dipping water, it could not serve all
purposes. This difficulty was met by wooden
spoons with handles half a yard long, and a
squarish-shaped bowl holding nearly half a pint,
that, supplemented by 'Mandy's long reach, could
safely fill to the brim the half-filled pie-plates.
Now and again a pan of ginger-bread sent out
a delicious odor from the oven when the watch-
ful goddess took observations. Then there were
times in the fruit seasons when, the other cook-
ing being finished, with an air of mystery she
placed in the dark oven a stone-pot, well cov-
ered, holding, as she alone knew, plums, goose-
berries, or other fruits and their modicum of loaf
sugar, leaving it in place till the following day,
and repeating the process after three bakings,
for thus she sometimes made sweetmeats.

After the bread was baked, the oven was often
reheated for the baking of meats, or, if the

93

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

never-lacking cookies and seed-cakes were to
have their turn, or anything requiring a quick
heat for a short time, a good handful of pine
wood set alight in the middle of the oven would
serve both cook and cookies.

"Pots" and "kettles" were distinct, the
former with bulging sides and a cover, the latter
always open and with sloping sides. A great
brass " wash-kettle " aided the laundry-work; a
" dish-kettle " was hung over the fire immediate-
ly after a meal, in which the various pieces of
pewter were placed and left, until, steaming hot,
it was swung from the crane, when the pewter
was readily given its silver shining.

The iron frying-pan would seem familiar in
a modern kitchen, save for the handle two or
three feet long, that bespeaks the open fire;
but the sausage-baker standing upright before
the blazing coals, with savory sausages cooking
on its bent wires, is a vision passed from the
eyes of men.

94

XIII

A JOURNEY TO NEW HAVEN

The shore line of speech is as ever-changing
as that of continents, and it has been declared
that no man could say with surety how his
grandfather spoke in his youth. For, while the
rocky ledges long resist the waves of time, there
are sandy beaches that shift perpetually, leaving
occasional isolated landmarks, and the winds
of custom blowing as they Hst, work strange
freaks with the lighter matters on different
strands. The " broken-spoken " Irishman still
retains an old value in the combination of the
vowel i and that of y with o, saying bye for boy
and boy for by; but one hundred and fifty years
ago, and for long after, not only was point fre-
quently pronounced pint, but pint, point. Stars
served for stairs, and stairs for stars, while the
combination ea varied from caUing the surname

95

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

Pearce Parss (it became Puree in Massachu-
setts) to Beard as Baird, giving weight to the
interpretation of Falstaff's " If reasons were as
plenty as blackberries " being then pronounced
raisins, and of far more value than modern
speech conveys. Chair became cheer, pears were
peers, etc., the / was pronounced in could, would,
and should, and not until Noah Webster pub-
lished his spelling-book were the terminations
Hon, tial, etc., given for pronunciation in one
syllable.

The district-school, at a turning of roads
before Thaddeus's house, was, like all built dur-
ing the reign of open fires, a small one-story
cellarless structure with a large chimney in the
middle of one end, making part of the outside
wall, and leaving a deep recess on each side of
it in the building. These " jogs " were parti-
tioned off to serve as the " boys' entry " and the
" girls' entry," where their wrappings were
hung. The only outer door led into the boys'
entry, through which the girls must pass to
reach the wooden pegs set apart for their sun-
bonnets, hoods, and long red cloaks.

The teacher's desk was directly before the

q6

A JOURNEY TO NEW HAVEN

crackling, blazing fire, the scholars sitting on
long benches in the middle of the room, while
against the wall a slanting shelf was nailed, be-
fore which they stood and learned to write.
Very thick, rough slates and large, heavy pencils,
just coming into use in the seaport schools,
were yet unknown in the hill-districts. Dil-
worth's Spelling-book, printed in Glasgow,
served as the foundation-stone of instruction;
the Bible was, save the New England Primer,
the only reading-book, until Noah Webster pub-
lished his book of Selections in 1789. Dil-
worth*s Arithmetic was the standard. But few
of the children owned books, blackboards had
not been thought of, and the teacher went from
one to another, and " set sums " for them to
puzzle over — to " find the decimal of 17s. Qd.
2 far. "! There were recitations in concert, of the
multiplication-table, and those of weights and
measures, and an ear attuned to the old key can
hear the swaying voices:

4 gills make one pint
2 pints " " quart

2 quarts " ** pottle
2 pottles " " gallon
97

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

4 pecks

make

one bushel

2 bushels

*•

•• strike

2 strikes

"

" coom

2 cooms

(<

" quarter

4 quarters

••

" chaldron

5 quarters

"

" wey

2 weys

<<

" last

7 lbs.

make

one clove

2 cloves

••

" stone

2 stones

"

" tod

6i tods

t(

" wey

2 weys

(<

•• sack

[2 sacks

<<

" load

and 10 cowhides were reckoned as one dicker.
Exercises in rhyme were given:

"A gentleman a chaise did buy,

A horse and harness too;
They cost the sum of threescore pounds,

Upon my word, 'tis true.
The harness came to half the horse,

The horse twice of the chaise.
And if you find the price of them,

Take them and go your ways."

There were also " pleasant and diverting ques-
tions;" such as the old riddle " As I was going
to St. Ives."

The teacher practised also one of the minor
arts, making with his pen-knife, pens from the
convenient goose-quill, for the row of children

who tried his patience with the continual de-

98

A JOURNEY TO NEW HAVEN

mand, " Please mend my pen," as they stood
at the long desk, toiling from pot-hooks to the
elaborate capitals in which they delighted. Ink
was made from ink-powders or sticks dissolved
in vinegar, or more primitively from soot and
vinegar. The ink-bottles were of leather, and
the writing-books made of large sheets of paper
stitched together.

The winter term lasted from October to April,
it was especially the boys' term, and a man was
employed as teacher; but in the summer term a
woman reigned, it being intended for girls and
smaller boys, all of whom learned to make patch-
work, knit, and work samplers. On Saturday
school was kept but half a day, the afternoon
being set apart for *' preparation for the Sab-
bath," and the morning lessons included the
Shorter Catechism and the Catechism from the
Prayer-book, according to the theology of the
pupils.

An obeisance to the teacher was always made
on leaving school, and recess sent out, as ever, a
lot of boys and girls eager for the games dear
to young hearts; and when the snow lay deep
enough the home-made sleds went flying down

99

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

the slopes, a girl in front well wrapped in her
bright red cloak, with a cavalier steersman be-
hind her. " Twelve Men Morris," an old game
played with " men " on a marked board, was
often laid out on the snow, the active boys
" moving " themselves.

" Manners " were strictly insisted on, and a
passing stranger received a salutation by a
" curtsey " from every child in petticoats, while
the boys stood respectfully, cap in hand.

In this little school-house the nine children of
Daniel and Mary received their education. The
curriculum was very limited, as grammar and
geography were not taught until near the end of
the century, and Mrs. John Adams certifies
that at this period, " female education in the
best families in Boston goes no farther than
writing and arithmetic, except in some in-
stances music and dancing. It is fashionable to
ridicule female learnmg." But in spite of this
far-reaching sentiment the desire for education
was strong, and both girls and boys made the
most of their opportunities. The young colored
children were also sent to school, as by law they
must, at least, be taught to read.

A JOURNEY TO NEW HAVEN

Boarding-schools were unknown, and youth
were prepared for college by the local or other
clerics. Following a custom obtaining among
the agriculturists who had several sons, Thad-
deus, the eldest son, was to inherit his grand-
father's house, and the second son, by virtue of
the order of his birth, was " brought up to col-
lege." So Benjamin, when twelve years old,
was in a state of suppressed excitement one
morning, over his anticipated first journey to
New Haven; not only must the Latin grammar
be purchased, but even an outside knowledge of
the college buildings would lend, it was thought,
a power in fixing his purpose. The distance
was only about fifteen miles, but the road lying
across the Housatonic, through another town
and county, was out of the usual line of travel
for the younger members, whose interest centred
in Ripton and its dependencies and the mater-
nal ties in old Stratford. On this bright morn-
ing in early May the whole household rose
very early to see the start. Daniel in a blue
camlet coat and " lappet " vest, his shirt rufifles
well crimped, and the ends of his tied neckcloth
flowing, claret-colored breeches, mixed gray

lOI

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

Stocking's, and low shoes, a " knapt " hat (beaver
with long fur), with Benjamin in a new butter-
nut-colored suit, waited as Jube led the mare
from the big barn, a well-quilted blanket-pad
being fastened to the back of the saddle. The
saddle-bags, collapsed now, but to show large
proportions later, were thrown over the saddle,
and Daniel mounted with the boy behind him
astride the pad, his blue-stockinged legs hug-
ging the mare, and a strap fastened across the
back of the saddle serving for support if needed.
The farewells were said amid repeated cautions
lest this or that errand be forgotten, and the
start was made ere the sun, climbing toward the
top of the horizon hills, had sent a ray into the
valleys.

The road lay up and down over the hill-crests,
until it reached the winding descent following
Leavenworth's brook down the forest-covered
steep, now half lighted by the rising sun. The
quiet early hours were broken only by the twit-
ter of birds and the rush of the full spring waters.
The river was reached where the fine old Leav-
enworth houses and a half-dozen others stood
on the level plain under the protecting hills.

102

A JOURNEY TO NEW HAVEN

Leavenworth's ship-yard was near, and the
bridge built by those enterprising men was, dur-
ing a long period of years, the only one for miles
across the " Great River." It was too early for
many greetings, but a rush of pleasure filled the
boy's heart as he heard the mare's hoofs strike
the boards, and saw the full, swiftly flowing
stream passing below. The crossing showed
the opposite bank in the beauty of spring, with
the glowing tints of the young leaves of maples,
oaks, and birches, and the dog-woods' level lay-
ers of blossoms thrust between them. The toll
paid, they followed a winding up-hill road, and
as they came to Squire Tomlinson's corner at
Derby Neck, Daniel reined in for a moment with
the words, " There's Patience, Ben," and on the
clear, early air came a girl's sweet voice singing
the first verse of Baxter's hymn:

"Lord, it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and serve Thee is my share,

And this Thy grace must give.
If life be long, I will be glad

That I may long obey;
If short, yet why should I be sad
To soar to endless day? "
103

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

To hear this was one of Benjamin's great
hopes, as it was known that Patience Moss had
a way of her own for timing her cooking. Lack-
ing a clock, as did many another, the varying
tastes of her household in the cooking of eggs
had been difficult to meet until she solved the
problem by her hymn-book. So on a clear spring
or summer morning, when the doors and win-
dows were open, all the neighboring dames and
damsels busy over their own breakfast prepara-
tions, would hear borne on the still air the maid-
en's voice, lifted for the first line of the hymn,
and they with one accord would say, " There go
Father's and Bill's eggs;" and the verse being
finished, there came an instant's pause in the
singing which the appreciative listeners would
fill with, " There go Jemima's and Sally's eggs; "
and then the second verse would come ringing
across the street, or stealing over the meadow.
At its ending the neighbors would again take
up the refrain, " There go the old woman's and
Ike's eggs;" and then the voice would rise again,
and finish the hymn of six verses.

Daniel guided the mare slowly down the hill

and across the brook, the maid's voice growing
104

A JOURNEY TO NEW HAVEN

clearer and clearer as they neared the Moss
homestead, and, through the open door of the
end kitchen, the boy had a glimpse of the slen-
der minstrel. It seemed a good omen for his
whole day. And then the way led on, twisting
between the hills, past the fine Yale mansion and
others large and small, till it again descended
to a river's brink and the rushing Naugatuck
was crossed, now in the broad sunlight, and
following the curving street at Up-town Derby,
the long hills must be climbed, down which in
a few years a French army would wend its way,
serving in the cause of freedom.

Emerson's declaration — " Nature has no re-
spect for haste " — is verified by the various races
of men who live close to the great mother and
are in sympathy with her. It is the result of
man's invention and handiwork that life is filled
with hurry and impatience; but the old journey-
ings, always considerate of the beast of burden,
the only motive power, and trained to grasp
every phase of earth and air and sky, gained such
pleasure from the ever-changing course, that
even an eager anticipation chafed not at the

slow progress. The road led on up and down
105

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

hills, and when, nearing New Haven, the father
showed the boy West Rock's outline, and told
again the story of the Judge's Cave, nothing less
than the important work on hand could have
satisfied the young legs to keep their place
astride the mare, rather than to be climbing the
rocky precipice for personal investigation.

But the town of New Haven, with its green,
its college, its churches and shops, had been too
long a dream of the imagination to make any-
thing else of great importance, and the easy
pacing through the streets, replete with town-
life, made his heart beat fast, as, sitting behind
his tall father, it seemed to the boy like an end-
less " Centre."

The important work, though dinner at a tav-
ern was not unworthy to be counted, was to see
the college, to make the well-planned pur-
chases, and to seek certain kindred in their
homes and business haunts. The young legs
were as tireless as the father's long ones, and
an open mind is a wide receptacle. The
churches on the green, and the long South Mid-
dle and other college buildings, filled him with
awe, not wearing away when, seeking a young

io6

A JOURNEY TO NEW HAVEN

kinsman among the students, the stripHng was
led through the buildings, until, in the friend's
own apartments, the ordinary necessaries of life
gave him a sense of being at home.

Benedict Arnold's store was the next goal,
and the hanging sign decorated with pestle and
mortar (now in the rooms of the New Haven
Colony Historical Society) was readily found. A
handbill, 5 by i6 inches, issued by this enterpris-
ing chemist and merchant, had found its way to
Upper White Hills, and, being eagerly conned,
had naturally suggested purchases. For, in addi-
tion to " A very large assortment of Drugs and
Chymical Preparations," it mentioned " God-
frey's Cordial, Daffy's Elixir, Eau de Luce Pills,
Essence Drops, Rose- Water, Cold Cream, La-
dies' Court Plaister, Spaw and pirmont waters,
Paper Hangings for rooms." A long list of
books, among which were " Hilary on the
Small-Pox," " Sherlock on Providence," " Gay's
Fables," " Hervey's Meditations," "Paradise
Lost," " Dryden " and other standard poets and
essayists, " Every Man his own Lawyer,"
"The Polite Lady," "A large collection of

Novels and Plays," "TEA, Rum, Sugar, Fine
107

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

Durham Flour, Mustard, Painters' Colors, A
very few neat watches. Buttons and buckles,
Mezzotint Pictures and Many other articles very
cheap for cash and short credit."

The Latin Grammar being- secured and the
various purchases paid for in colonial paper
money from Daniel's morocco pocket-book and
in jingling coin from his breeches pocket, there
were houses to enter that seemed full of mystery
and grandeur to a boy of Benjamin's limited
experience, and the wharves and shipping made
him wonder if that life with its charm of rope
and pulley, of motion and adventure, would not
after all be more enjoyable than the college.

But, home reached again, and the tale of the
day unfolded with that deliberation that spins out
the pleasure, there was much expression of pride
in the knowledge gained of the college-buildings,
as he led the listening brothers and sister
through them, and already saw himself a student
within their walls.

The opening of the saddle-bags was a func-
tion by itself. Not till after the evening meal
and the usual prayers were over, could they be

opened. Impatient but obedient fingers would
io8

A JOURNEY TO NEW HAVEN

not touch them; restraint was ever a valuable les-
son. But their depths were finally reached and
the various purchases approved. One and six-
pence worth of fresh cloves (to be steeped in two
quarts of boiling water — this added to two quarts
of rum and sweetened with loaf-sugar made
clove-water). One ounce of opium (which put
in three gills of rum made laudanum). Twelve
yards of India tafifety for a gown for the mother
and some russet for a new petticoat; "The
Looking-Glass, short stories with a moral/' for
little Esther; a few oranges were put aside to
be carefully divided and joyfully eaten to-mor-
row, the peel to be saved for bitters and mince-
pies; the Latin Grammar was wondered over;
the fine blue marking-thread pronounced right,
as was also the linen cambric for rufHes and lawn
for kerchiefs. For the grandmother there was
Dutch lace for a new cap-border, and the elder
Thaddeus turned with pleasure the leaves of
" The History of Religion in England." Daniel
himself had a new copy of the Colonial Laws,
and that good book whose authorship yet re-
mains unknown, " The Whole Duty of Man."

Tea, usually bought by the quarter of a pound,
109

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

could not be neglected when an opportunity of-
fered for procuring a new variety; in fact, the
great and widely known store of Elisha Mills, in
Ripton, might supply most of these matters but
there is ever a charm in new ventures.

No one was neglected, for there were bright
buttons for the small boys' jackets, and essence
drops to make the eyes of Jube's little flock
shine, and withal there was the delightful one-
ness in pleasure that abides with a united family.

no

XIV
THE MOTHER'S DUTIES

In every age the woman who bears efficiently
the responsibilities of wife and mother, house-
keeper and hostess, needs a keen eye, a sure
hand, and a steady heart. Although in those far-
of[ days the whirligig of time did not seem to
move with the present fin de siecle rapidity, yet
the treadle must ever be kept in motion, and all
ladies, even those of fashion and distinction, di-
rected their household affairs.

In a large family there was always a baby to
be cuddled, young children to be guided and
petted, while sympathy and counsel were needed
by those growing toward man's degree. Thus
the shy Stratford maiden became the responsible
matron, guiding her growing household with
love and wisdom, while her energetic nature,
and the habit of the day, left her hands sel-

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

dom idle. A touch less skilful could not spin
two threads, one with each hand, while a foot
kept the treadle of the flax-wheel moving and a
baby slept on her lap. There was soft wool for
endless knitting, fine ruffles and kerchiefs to hem
and babies' caps and other adornments to em-
broider, and the innumerable stitches to which
a mother must ever put her hand.

'Mandy proved capable in performing the
routine work, and as numbers increased a young
helper, Moll, was procured, whom she guided
with discretion, as well as the group of little
Brownies that grew up about Jube and herself,
who were impressed into service as soon as the
young hands and feet could be trusted. The
standard of neatness was high — pewter must rival
silver in its brilliance, the wooden-ware, of which
there was large store, must be like the driven
snow — and an air of purity seemed to fill the
house, its whitewashed walls cheered by the glow
of the great fires and by the sunbeams that
found free entrance through the shutterless win-
dows.

The house was, virtually, always open. Never
was a bolt drawn on a door nor a bar placed

THE MOTHER'S DUTIES

against its welcome. Guests, be they kindred,
friend, or stranger, were sure of a greeting that
warmed the heart and of a courtesy that knew no
limit. " Manners " were a part of the Hfe of all
classes, but the finer grade, the courtesy that
makes a guest a king, that counts nothing too
precious to offer of self or substance, that veils
a dislike, and makes all equally at home within
the castle, was the governing power in hospi-
tality, and its source reached back through
generations of gentlefolk, to the high class of
gentry, who made a large part of some of the
colonial companies.

Guests came at all hours and at all seasons,
expected and unexpected, in the days when pos-
tal service was not, and when there was small
chance of finding an empty house. The first
duty to a guest was to offer refreshment, and
the panelled door of the cupboard by the fire-
place in the living-room opened to show a large
assortment, from which choice was made ac-
cording to the guest's station. Often as Mary
chanced to look out of her window and rec-
ognized riders emerging from the wooded road,

she would hasten to the front room, where, on
113

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

the shelves behind a glass door, were the " foot-
glasses " and the choice bits of delft that even
'Mandy's hand must not touch. If a lady, or
Parson Newton, were approaching, the most
delicate viands would be offered, a glass of wine
or the king of all the liquors, Santa Cruz rum,
and that fruit-cake that 'Mandy hid in the depths
of a stone-pot and whose retreat was known only
to herself, must be forthcoming. If the guest
were of less distinction. New England rum was
supposed better to suit his taste, or for a woman
a glass of home-made cordial, with doughnuts,
would be acceptable; or cider might be offered,
and in cold weather flip, which was beer, rum,
and sugar made hissing-hot by being stirred with
the hot flip-iron, that, hanging near the kitchen
chimney, was always ready to be thrust into the
coals. •

A guest seen advancing was met at the door
with, " You are welcome." The first civilities
over and refreshments duly considered, eti-
quette asked for a deliverance of his budget,
with, " What is the state of health in your vi-
cinity? "

Guests were far from infrequent, from Thad-
114

THE MOTHER'S DUTIES

deus and Esther and the parents in Stratford vil-
lage, to the kindred of varying degrees and
friends whose homes lay here and there within
the wide bounds of the old town, and of neigh-
boring towns also. A great house with no limit
to its heart, where there was no tavern within
several miles, was sure to be a refuge. So the
world drifted in and out of the door, bringing
its tidings from various quarters, and carrying
away the cheer that long abides with the re-
cipient.

When Mary first came to her new home,
Esther, following the usual etiquette, invited to
her own house all the neighboring friends, to
introduce to them her daughter-in-law. For this
ceremony both maid and mistress stirred them-
selves unusually; there was no stint in the dole
of fruit and spice, of cream and butter, of eggs
and white sugar, that made the rich brown loaves
Dorcas drew out of the oven, and there was fine
Madeira in a flowered glass bottle, of which
choice guests might sip, with clove-water, cor-
dials, and other beverages for varying tastes.

This was an occasion for the wearing of wed-
ding finery, and the women who came on pillions

"5

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

had their gowns carefully pinned up for the ride,
to be shaken down over finely-quilted petticoats.
Laying aside their velvet or cloth pugs (riding-
cloaks with hoods), they showed caps of fine
muslin embroidered with many lace stitches, and
the rufBes lace-edged, kerchiefs of lawn and
aprons of persian (silk); and the men in coats
of blue and green, brown and claret, long waist-
coats of every hue, and breeches of velvet
or cloth brightened with silver buttons and
buckles. By inheritance they had the education
and civilization their forefathers had brought
with them to a new country; life was full of con-
ventionalities, and the fabrics of France, the
speech of England, and a ceremonious courtesy
which was a reflection of that in kings' houses,
seemed removed far more than a quarter of a
century from the wilderness and the savage.

ii6

XV

MAKING NEW FRIENDS

Mary herself must also entertain the neigh-
borhood, and the new friends flitted in and out
at her " tea-drinkings " admiring the little blue-
eyed woman and her tall husband, whose pride
and satisfaction could be read in spite of his
quiet demeanor. Tea was a treat, costing several
dollars a pound, but it was not used with mod-
ern lavishness, as, well boiled, a little served a
large purpose, and the delicate blue and white
china " tea-dishes," decorated with Chinese tem-
ples and landscapes, were of the tiniest. On
these state occasions the best front room was
open, and the guests might almost hesitate to set
even a slippered foot on the sanded floor, lest
they mar the pattern so deftly marked on it. The
round tea-table would seem small to the modern

hostess for the accommodation of her guests,
117

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

but the fashion of that day was, if the guests were
many, to sit about the room, everything being
passed to them; if few, they sat near, not at, the
table, near enough to reach it, that plate or cup
and saucer might be placed upon it.

The table was laid with the finest table-cloth,
holland, of course, and there were napkins for
the ladies to spread on their laps. It was cus-
tomary for each guest to bring her own cup and
saucer and tea-spoon; so, although Mary's store
would sufHce, part of her treasures might be left
behind the glass door of the cupboard. Tea was
served from the "tortoise-shell" tea-pot; in a
sugar-bowl of the same ware the broken loaf-
sugar lay like snow against the dark-red glaze
of its lining, and on the sugar the silver " tea-
tongs " were laid with pride, while the little sil-
ver cream-pot, with Mary's initials in square
typographical letters, was the prize of the table.
Sweetmeats were in shining pewter basins, and
served on small pewter plates which were almost
as brilliant as mirrors.

Queen Esther, too, was proud of the young
hostess who served her guests so gracefully, and
if 'Mandy dared to listen, when her biscuits and

ii8

MAKING NEW FRIENDS

fruit-cake, passing from hand to hand on plates
from far Cathay, were praised, no one could
blame her!

The tea-cups were without handles and the
spoons, which were very small, served that
purpose. A spoon left in the cup and against
its edge, made a rest for the forefinger placed
in front of it; while the other fingers, back of
it, held the cup itself. And there was a strict
etiquette regarding the spoon; left in the
empty cup, it signified that one did not desire
the cup refilled, but laying it in the saucer meant
that more tea would be acceptable. An atten-
tive hostess did not need to use her eyes to ascer-
tain her guests' wishes. The click alone of the
spoon on cup or saucer told their pleasure to her
discriminating ear.

The guests themselves, genteel and agreeable,
chatted, admired, and deHghted in it all, talking
of this and that, of parson and sermon, of house
and children, of gossip and fashion, with that
good humor, racy wit, and sprightly manner for
which the women of New England were re-
nowned.

Mary's nature was very social and she soon
119

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

made friends among these women of the hills,
but there were two distinguished from the first
above all others. Daniel's cousin, the little
Charity who used to sit by her grandmother in
church, having grown tall and buxom, had mar-
ried a man of valor, and their house on the east-
ern rise of Spindle-Tree Hill was on the road to
Ripton. Beach, Charity's husband, though com-
ing from Stratford village, was already a large
land-holder on the hills, and at the time of
Mary's marriage three children had been taken
to the meeting-house for baptism, for Charity,
having married one of the meeting-folk, must go
with her husband. To Mary this cousin, em-
barked on the sea of matrimony somewhat in ad-
vance of herself, proved a wise counsellor, and
there were many pleasant journeys homeward on
Sundays, the men. Beach and Daniel, in advance,
and the women on their own horses, ambling
side by side, and talking their woman's talk.

But the new friend that really marked an era
in Mary's life was Hepzibah, whose date of mar-
riage tallied very nearly with her own. She was
of Huguenot descent, her father, born in Strat-
ford, and marrying there in 1725, had, about
120

MAKING NEW FRIENDS

the time Thaddeus married, removed from
his pleasant home *' by the water-side " in
the village to one of Stratford's wilderness re-
gions, called Moose Hill, where Indians were the
nearest neighbors. Hepzibah was only then
learning to take her first little steps, and the
home was so remote that it had never been pos-
sible for her to go to school but for one short
term of three months. Her grandmother, how-
ever, taught her at home, and her own keen in-
terest, determination, and ability enabled her
not only to gain much knowledge from books,
but also to guide a pen wittingly.

Moose Hill became part of another " Centre,"
called New Stratford, and within the district's
limits was Barn Hill, on the southern side of
which was set the home of Hepzibah on her mar-
riage. This also was a fine house, not as large
as that of Daniel, but built much on the same
plan and about two miles distant. Hepzibah was
a woman of " parts," tall, erect, and fair, not in-
heriting from her father physically, but proving
mentally the French blood. Her great-grand-
parents being Walloons, the type was not far
to seek. Being also of Puritan stock, and

121

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

education, the temperament was restrained, dig-
nified, and, like most of the women, she had ever
a Hving interest in serious matters. But there
was a love of art, and of beauty, an ingenuity and
desire for expression, that marked her as unlike
most of her contemporaries. The possibilities
of even a small colonial city were beyond her
grasp, but by her brains and hands she realized
some of her longings. Drawing her own de-
signs and with colors made from various dyes
and plants she painted her window-shades,
which in those days were always of paper. And
with a supply of crewels, she made rugs from the
common tow-cloth, using it as a canvas: making
the pattern as she worked, flowers and vines
grew under her fingers, and the background
was filled with black stitches. She was fond of
her garden, especially a large bed of pinks on
which the sunshine lay all day, and she had great
pride in variegating their shades by braiding to-
gether the roots of different varieties. Happy
was the child for whom a large handful was
gathered, and carefully strung with a thread
through the long green calyxes to be wound
into a " posy."

122

MAKING NEW FRIENDS

To verse also she set her hand, and a remark-
able memory helped her to make the limited
number of books that came within her reach a
part of herself. Her husband, bearing the name
of Milton, because of his father's admiration for
" Paradise Lost," was a man of rare physical
beauty, and with such admiration for her supe-
rior intellectual power as to be willing to shine
with less brilliance.

So the friendship began which was to last
through many years and the two young mar-
ried women, both starting on the new life,
found that in itself a bond, while the attraction

of opposites wrought its endless charm.
123

XVI

FIRE AND LIGHT

In the days when friction-matches were an un-
known quantity — and those days lasted until
about 1830 — " a light " meant far more than at
the present time. The element of fire, man's
greatest friend, was, during the colder weather,
his greatest fear. A house was never left alone
with a fire burning. Under any circumstances
there would be little to help the subduing of an
unruly flame with water only in the depths of a
well or, possibly, a few gallons in a hogshead at
the corner of the house.

In these homes of the past the fires in the
kitchen and living-rooms did not go out from
the first cool days of the fall until the summer
sun made them largely unnecessary. In winter
there was always an immense back-log, twelve

to eighteen inches in diameter, often drawn to

124

FIRE AND LIGHT

the hearthstone by a horse that Jube drove
right into the kitchen. Against this log the
smaller and Hghter wood was piled, a green
'' fore-stick " keeping guard lest any turn truant.
To light the fires there was kept a supply of
" swingling-tow," the refuse of the flax-stalk
after the spinable flax and tow had, by varying
processes, been removed. Being very dry and
light, it was highly inflammable, and when the
kindling-wood was in place, the crane was
pulled forward and a bunch of the tow hung on
one of the long pothooks. Then Jube took the
old king's-arm from its place behind the kitchen
door, and, kneeling on the hearthstone, put a lit-
tle powder in the flash-pan, then, holding it just
under the tow, he snapped the old flint-lock, set-
ting powder and tow in a blaze. The great log
would last a week; at night the coals and brands
were piled against it, the ashes were carefully
banked, and the burning wood and coals cov-
ered, leaving only one little breathing-place. In
the morning, raking away the ashes, 'Mandy
found a glowing bed ready for the day's de-
mands.

As the bedroom that opened from the living-
125

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

room was always occupied, and the danger of

fire ever on the mind, a rebellious spark could

do Httle damage ere it would be revealed. Fires

in other bedrooms were Hkewise on the sleepers*

minds, and when lighted in the front room were

not left until they also could be safely banked.

The " sparking-fires," — those burning in one of

the outer rooms when a suitor came to plead his

cause, or, being successful, to plan for the future,

— were the especial charge of the visitor, and he

was not expected to make his farewells until tfie

coals had burned low enough to admit of a safe

banking.

To light a candle or a pipe, a strong arm

lifted a burning coal with the long, heavy tongs,

and, bringing it toward the face with one hand,

blew it into a flame, then the candle held in the

other hand was quickly lighted; but a pipe was

as often scooped into the edge of the fire,

bringing up a layer of red ashes, that, with a puff,

set the weed burning. Thin sticks of light wood

were kept in a little cupboard in the chimney,

with which a lady or a child might light a candle,

for paper was far too scarce to burn.

Even in warm weather, when fire was needed
126

FIRE AND LIGHT

only for cooking, the kitchen fires were rarely
allowed to go out entirely until the tinder-box
came into general use. The spark caused by
strike of steel on flint was not of itself sufficient
to light the usual kindling, but a tinder-box held
a compartment in which was placed a strip of
linen that had been half burned, bearing the
same relation to its former substance that char-
coal does to wood, and easily ignited by a spark.
The flint being struck and the tinder on fire, a
small bit of it was pinched off with snuffers or
fingers, and the fire was lighted in an instant.
Closing the box secured the rest of the tinder for
future use. Lacking such conveniences, the only
way of getting fire was to go for it, and a " neigh-
bor's " might be half a mile or more away. A
boy sent on the mission would seize a burning
brand, and by rapid motion keep it aflame even
for a long distance, while the more sedate would
carry a pan or shovel of coals, but with such
haste that a description of a rapid gait was, " He
goes as if he were carrying fire."

The light of these early days was, universally,
the tallow-dip or the moulded candles. Candle-
sticks were tall, of brass or pewter or iron, often
-^ 127

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

with a band around the slender upright part
to which a flat hook was attached. This served
to hang the candle on a peg if one wished the
light raised or to carry it even with the hands full
by hanging it from one finger. When a busy
knitter dropped a stitch that she would find
again, or, for any purpose a low light was
needed, the hook would catch on the raised rim
of the " candlestand," a small four or eight-
sided table, on opposite sides of which the heads
of the house sat when the family gathered »v ithin
the shelter of the tall tow-screen. Settles were
not known in this part of Connecticut, and a
screen about six feet high, in five parts, each
three feet wide, covered with heavy tow-cloth,
confined the heat from the fire, and shielded the
group within from the draughts that played
about walls and windows in winter.

In the kitchen, 'Mandy, busy over her family
mending or knitting, had an iron lamp hanging
from a peg in the wall near the fireplace. This
was a shallow, three-sided iron pan about six
inches across, with a rim hardly an inch deep.
One side of the rim was so cut that a tongue of

iron bent upward and partly over the pan, made

128

FIRE AND LIGHT

a handle; to this a short chain was attached
by which the lamp hung. In this dish lay a
twisted rag on which any kind of melted grease
was poured, and the end of the rag protruding
at the point of the dish served for a wick, giving
a fair light.

'Mandy was a busy mother, for, although ma-
terials were supplied her and the boys' clothing
was made by the cat-whipping tailor, the patch-
ing and knitting were endless, and she had some
share'%1 the coarser spinning. Daniel employed
a weaver by the year, and the shuttle was always
flying from one hand to the other, carrying the
fine flaxen or woolen thread. From the weaving-
room came forth blankets of white and plaids,
cloths and flannels, linen of all grades, linsey-
woolsey and tow-cloths, the winter's spinning to
be woven in the summer and the summer's spin-
ning in the winter.

As Tube's vouneer brother, Samson, found
Moll an irresistible charmer, Thaddeus trans-
ferred him to Daniel's household. And life grew
delightfully complicated with the varied interests
of children of all ages. The boys found unceas-
ing opportunity for the exercise of ingenuity
129

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

and deft handicraft. The Yankee was rapidly
growing away from the Enghshman. Every
generation set them farther apart, and the
mother of invention might well be proud of her
offspring.

It was natural to a boy to learn the use
of every tool and implement, the '* how " and the
" why " of every custom and process, and al-
though there was keen zest over games of ball
and of physical prowess, it was keener over the
making of traps to catch woodchucks or rabbits,
and, best of all, the frisky red squirrel, which
was just coming into these forests. Being a
stranger and much more playful than his gray
cousin, he was eagerly sought, as a rare prize.

Woodchucks were hunted by both black and
white boys with avidity, the darker element lik-
ing the meat, and both valuing the skin, as, when
properly tanned and dressed, it made the most
perfect whip-lash. When it was well stretched
on a board, an expert boy having a sharp knife
would cut with the cunning of Dido, and from
the tiny hide gain so long a strip that it served
for two or three lashes, each made of four or six
strands, carefully braided, and the cutting was

FIRE AND LIGHT

with such skill that the braided lash swelled
properly toward the middle and tapered at the
end with symmetry.

There being no contrary law, game was often
secured by a snare made of braided horse-hair,
artfully looped and placed under low bushes — a
dangerous necklace for unsuspecting quail or
partridge. And the boys, being held responsible
for mice in the store-room, made small traps for
them also.

Something to be whittled out was of unfail-
ing interest. A nice bit of wood was full of pos-
sibilities; spoons that stirred the hasty-puddings,
netting-needles for making seines, checkers for
the games played in the long winter evenings,
and many other articles, grew under the hands
that held the jack-knife.

Samson was a great bee-hunter, and a man

with that kind of a bee in his bonnet is ever alert.

He seemed sometimes to have extra vision, for

whether he was at work at home or a-field, he

had usually a bee-tale to tell, and if many were

received incredulously, occasionally he proved

his triumph. Although beehives made a part of

the house industry, wild honey was a treat for, be-
131

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

ing made largely from flowers growing in
swamps where there was little sun, it had a dis-
tinct flavor. Many a forest tree bore a liquid
treasure in its heart that the ordinary passer
never suspected. The law of custom decreed that
whoever discovered a bee-tree could claim it by
cutting his initials on it, and the tree was his,
even if he did not cut it down for years. A
bee laden with pollen makes a straight line, a
" bee-line," for home, while the one seeking food
flits hither and yon. To discover the bee-tree
the insect must be followed rapidly, not always
an easy task, as the path might prove too full
of difliculty and the flying guide be lost, even at
what seemed the critical moment. If Samson's
tales might be thought at times too marvellous,
when his master was convinced that he had
found the tree " for sure," then there was fun
for every man and boy allowed to have a part in
the gathering. Often in the deep woods, some-
times on edge of swamp or meadow, on a neigh-
bor's land, or on the master's, far or near mat-
tered not, but late in an afternoon, when the
bees had gone in for the night, Samson lead-
ing his cavalcade to the spot, and, showing the

132

FIRE AND LIGHT

rude S he had accompHshed with his jack-knife,
would point out the opening his keen eyes had
discovered. Vigorous strokes laid the tree low
and the bees were suffocated by burning a Httle
sulphur at the opening, then skilful work was re-
quired to split the hollow trunk and take out the
large, brittle combs. These, amounting some-
times to from fifty to one hundred and fifty
pounds weight, were carried home in wooden
pails and trays and with due formality presented
to the mistress by the delighted workers, all sure

of a large portion of honey for supper.
133

XVII

FISHING AND CAMPING

Fishing, whether in brook or river, charmed
boy and man. Jube, having received due per-
mission, often invited young Thaddeus and
Benjamin to go to Round Hill Brook, and,
with a few whispered words and many expres-
sive gestures, directed their casts over a still, dark
pool, where he made sure a fine trout was rest-
ing out of the rush of waters, or under the edge
of a great rock, where another lay in hiding.
At other times in a flat-bottomed boat on the
river, they sought perch and pickerel. And
when by the watercourses, he had always an eye
for the " scouring-rush " {Eqiiisetum hiemale)
counting on 'Mandy's praises for bringing it in
good quantity. This rush carries much silica in
its fibre, and served largely in keeping the wood-
en-ware white, being superior to everything else
134

FISHING AND CAMPING

for that purpose. The growth is in single
stalks, round and hollow, about one-quarter of
an inch in diameter and from one to three feet
high. This 'Mandy hung in her kitchen till it
was dry, and then cut in lengths of five or six
inches. A dozen of these pieces bunched, and
tied near each end, made them easily handled.
Before using, the brush was put in water to ren-
der it pliable, and after doing its duty to-day it
was hung up to dry ready for to-morrow.*

The great fishing of the year was in the
spring when the shad ran up the river seeking
their birthplaces. In the early days of the Col-
ony the " fishing rights " were the property of
those land-holders whose borders were washed
by the river, the Indians having a " right " near
their reservation at Corum. As property was
divided by inheritance, the rights were held in
partnership, and a man sometimes sold a part or
the whole of his share. The elder Daniers right
had been at the " Old Boar," just above " The
Sow " and " The Pigs." In this property Thad-
deus had his privilege, and extended it to his
son.

* Appendix 300.
135

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

In the fall each owner in a right at a " sta-
tion " — which was simply a place on the river-
bank where it was possible or convenient to
manage the seine — agreed how much net he
would make during the winter. For this the
best flax was used and twisted into twine
on the wheel. The boys and the negroes
netted in the evenings; they cast their own
lead sinkers, and their ever-ready jack-knives
made floats from pine. When the shad began
to run well in the river, the nets being brought
together in some meadow near the station, were
joined and strung with floats and sinkers. As
the fish always swim against the current and lie
in groups in quiet eddies waiting for the tide to
turn, the seine was set just before the full-tide,
and when the waters, obeying the mysterious
power, reversed their course, the fish, starting
eagerly on their upward journey, met another
fate, and were soon flopping on the sandy shore.
A large haul was of three or four hundred,
and, if the moonlight held good, the seine was
drawn several times in one night. Salt shad
for winter use were as much, if not more de-
sired, than those for immediate consumption,
136

FISHING AND CAMPING

and when the nights for drawing seine were
made known, people came, often from long
distances, bringing both barrels and salt to the
river's brink; and the fish but a few moments
since swimming in the moonlit waters were
dressed, washed in the shallow pools near the
shore, salted and packed away, to serve as a
prized relish through the coming year. There
were also buyers of fish who would sell them
from house to house to-morrow, taking pay in
salt-pork, with the reckoning of two pounds of
fish for one pound of pork.

By common consent the river was free to the
fish on Saturdays and Sundays — a custom no
one would presume to transgress. The cus-
toms regulating the fishing were far more
strictly observed than are the present laws that
grew out of them.

In lives unstirred by great matters, these di-
versions were hailed with a delightful excite-
ment. Still another in the same line was the
annual camping out on Stratford beach at Point-
no-Point, to rake oysters, to dig clams, to catch
striped bass, white perch, and yellow-fin. Jube

and Samson made an early start one morning
137

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

in command of two ox-carts well laden with vari-
ous farm products, and a little live freight in
the form of small boys^ while Daniel himself
followed later in the saddle, with Httle Esther
behind him on a pillion and two of the larger
boys on another horse. The first destination was
Captain Burroughs's wharf on the Pequonnock,
which the oxen, leaving so long in advance,
reached as soon as the master. Thereupon there
was a confab over various matters, a record of
goods received and a list of purchases to be made
in Boston, both duly put away in the captain's
big pocket-book. Cousin Charity had recently
achieved the glory of a large delft platter,
round, as were all the old platters, the blue and
white pattern of which had been dancing before
Mary's eyes ever since she saw it. A like treas-
ure must be hers also, for, although even in Eng-
land pewter still made the usual dinner-service,
there was a creeping in of bits of " delft " —
Chinese-ware largely — and of the early English
dishes for use on the dinner-table, the " tea-
dishes " having already found their place for the
lighter meal.

There were also commissions for various
138

FISHING AND CAMPING

household necessaries and personal adornments,
all of which Captain Burroughs carefully tran-
scribed in his account-book, which remains unto
this day.

As soon as the ox-carts were unloaded they
were started again in advance, while the riders,
after adjusting details of prices and possibili-
ties of date for the return voyage, finally took
their way also along the old King's Highway, and
the children rejoiced as they neared the toll-gate
to hear the clattering hoofs and the strident cry
of the post-rider, Andrew Hurd, " Open the
gates for the King's Post! "

Over Old Mill Hill they went, past the long,

narrow, elm-bordered green where the vision

reaches over the blue waters of the Sound to the

green fields and trees of Long Island, and on

down into Stratford village; past Benjamin's

tavern, where Washington and Lafayette were to

meet a few years hence, and down the long street

to the Lordship meadow and Point-no-Point —

that deceptive outline of land which from the

water seems a protruding point, but which in

reality curves but little.

A flat-bottomed fishing-boat about twenty
139

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

feet long was hired, which, tilted on its side, and
well banked with sand, would make a shelter for
the nights. Great bunches of dry sea-weed
served for beds and pillows. The careful mother
and faithful 'Mandy had provided ample store
of coverlids and food, and Daniel knowing that
the men were to be trusted with the three white
boys, who, with Jube's little ones, were already
prospecting for clams, he left them, first to ar-
range with the owner of a salt meadow for " a
jag of salt hay," then to carry little Esther to
her kindred, while he sought other friends and
affairs.

The days went all too fast* with the clam-dig-
gers and fishermen, and the night's sound sleep
was well earned. Swimming in the warm salt-
water, fishing from the boat, wading in the
creek's mouth with bare feet, to feel the
oysters that were to be raked up, exploring
at low tide the round holes on the sand-bars that
betrayed the clam's refuge, and cooking and
eating in the open, was living out a story-book
almost before such story-books were written.

Meantime little Esther in a gown of double-
plaid sat in a low, straight-backed chair, knitting

140

FISHING AND CAMPING

a long garter, enjoying seed-cake and other
dainties, that bear a distinct flavor in a house
other than home. She skipped joyfully along the
garden paths among flowers strange and familiar,
running out occasionally through the white gate
to the corner, where, between the tops of the
beautiful elm trees, she could see the brass
weathercock which was pierced by British shot a
few years later, and still turns this way and that
on the church steeple. The dear grandmother
knew how to prevent any feeling of loneli-
ness as twilight neared, and there was an extra
serving of jam, after the bread and milk in the
pewter porringer had disappeared. There were
kittens to feed and cuddle and one to be chosen
for Esther to take home, in a loose bag to be
carried on her lap.

When the time came for the reluctant home-
ward journey and the hill-top was regained, an
unfolding of budgets, mental and material, fol-
lowed, Jube bringing his mistress a bunch of
unicorn-root, one of the remedies provided
against the colds and coughs that cold weather
might develop.

Doctors were at a distance and every wise
141

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

mother had a stock of simples which she used
with discretion and ability. Tansy was not exactly
a cure-all, but so potent that in the spring, when
the leaves were small and tender, it was served
in tansy pancakes, which the children did not
altogether dislike. A few leaves in a bottle of
rum made " tansy-bitters," the first remedy for
any sensation of cold or " goneness," and the
long list of hert)S, dock, pennyroyal, boneset,
horehound, catnip, sage and wormwood, were
as much a part of the harvest as the ripened
grain. And when the first warm days of
spring marred the crispness of humanity, garlic
and rum, a spoonful once a day, was adminis-
tered to a line of children, willing or unwilling,
and neither white nor black mother failed in
this duty.

The little fingers of the household found
a perennial pleasure in gathering nuts and
berries in their season, and if their games were
not as varied as a kindergarten series, there
were hide-and-seek, blindman's-buff, fox and
geese, and best of all, oats-peas-beans-and-bar-
ley-grows, when, all the doors being set open,

the children, joining hands, circled the great
142

FISHING AND CAMPING

chimney, coming to a stand-still in the living-
room, for " Now you are married you must
obey." Tag also gained an extra zest when the
chimney's great bulwark was to be dodged,
but even a venturesome child would not dare
to take advantage of this freedom of the floor
to do injury to any of the furniture. There
was a wholesome restraint as natural as was
movement, that did not cultivate the organ of
destructiveness.

Dolls were almost as mythical as fairies, but a
" rag-baby " was loved and dressed and caressed
with joy and satisfaction.

The fingers of the negro, like those of the In-
dian, were apt in the plaiting of baskets and in the
twisting of rushes for seating the plainer chairs,
whose frames were turned by the hill carpenter.
In the long evenings these articles grew under
the hands of men and boys, the baskets often
being stained red by a solution of copperas in
vinegar. The rushes used were of different
growths, the cat-tail serving for the heavier
work. Mops were made of corn-husks bound
to a handle, the husks having been drawn

through a hetchel which shredded them, and
143

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

door-mats of husks^ whole or hetcheled, were
braided with pride and pleasure. The straw
hats for common use were made from the whole
rye-straw, plaited often by the children, and
sewed into form by the women over a block
giving the shape of the crown.

One of a boy's great treasures was a ball made
from an old stocking leg ravelled, and carefully
wound, then covered with soft leather by the
mother's skilful fingers. A form of base-ball
was the important game, varied by " four-holey-
crack " and " round-ball," while all feats of skill
and daring were welcomed. Fear was not culti-
vated. To be brave, to be skilful in whatever
one set a hand to, to accomplish everything un-
dertaken, to surmount difficulty, gave life a per-
petual goal. Nothing was more clearly demon-
strated in the later conflict with disciplined armies
than that he that had been faithful in little would
be faithful also in much. That the hour of emer-
gency must be the hour of triumph is one of the
great underlying principles for the success of a

venture or a country.

144

XVIII

FASHIONS

Fashion moved slowly a century and a half
ago. Before the French revolution a doll
dressed in the latest mode carried the patterns
from France to Vienna once a year. Fabrics
made by the old methods were enduring, and
one was not much out of style if he wore his gar-
ments in the first cut even to shabbiness. Dress,
however, was important, the first consideration
being that the material be of fine quality, and
there was ever some tinge of novelty lending a
charm to purchasers. Man's dress, varied by
style of button, length of cuff and vest, and the
discarding of buckram lining in the coat skirts,
retained its main characteristics through a long
period. Cocked hats gave place to very tall
crowns with brims drooping and curling, until

one was evolved whose wide brim was rolled
145

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

close to the crown at the side, dipping like a
canopy at front and back. Low shoes and knee-
breeches, or " small clothes," with the glitter of
silver buckles, lasted long. Many a man dying
at an old age before 1820 never wore a boot in
his life, even though he did service under arms
for his country. Coats and whole suits were
of all colors, black being chiefly for the clergy
and for mourning. Vests were of cloth,
brocade, velvet, satin, cassimere, and all woollen
materials, blue and gray, claret and green, with
deep pocket-flaps and silver or other bright but-
tons. The great-coat of blue camlet, with sev-
eral short capes, long of waist and large of but-
ton, trousers of leather and leggings of deer-skin,
were a protection against storm, although the
more ordinary legging was simply an extra
stocking-leg well tucked in the low shoe. Over-
shoes were of very heavy leather, but no higher
than the other shoe, and occasionally made like
a moccasin, all of one piece. Women also might
have leather overshoes, and sometimes goloshes
or " pattens " — a wooden arrangement fastened
under the sole of the shoe, raising it from the

ground.

146

FASHIONS

Quilted petticoats, over which the upper dress
opened, were of silk, satin, or woollen, and were
wrought in marvellous patterns of flowers and
fruits; .of the woollens the favorite was " russet,"
a fabric which, whatever the foundation color,
bore also an iridescent gloss. Trails were deri-'
sively called "sweep-streets," and, like many of his
sex, Daniel objected to them. So when Esther,
his eldest daughter, had attained the dignity of
fourteen years, and he bought for her the neces-
sary material for a gown of a red and gray serge,
it was presented with the caution, " Put all you
please in the roundabout, but don't let any of it
down on the ground."

Bonnets were naturally evolved from hoods.
First a reed was put in the front edge to prevent
its falling over the face, and gradually, near the
close of the last century, bonnets appeared, not
yet however of plaited straw, but of silk and
other materials made over a foundation " bonnet-
paper " of stiff pasteboard. Hats with crowns
and brims made of stiff fabrics covered with vel-
vet or satin, had been in use for generations in
fashionable life, but beyond the great towns a

hood was the universal covering for a woman's
147

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

head. This was often attached to the cloak, a
cloak meaning a circular garment without
sleeves, which was made of woollen stuff, of
velvet, or of silk crape. When quite short, like
a modern cape, they were called " pugs," and
were of velvet, cloth, or even gauze. Hoods
separate from the cloaks were of various mate-
rials, to suit the seasons, and a sun-bonnet of
checked linen or flowered calico did every-day
duty in warm weather.

When a woman rode on a pillion a cloak
served her purpose, but when in the saddle, a
long-waisted coat was more convenient. So
there were coats and waistcoats of the various
stuffs, and sometimes a " mantee " — a. coat with
sleeves, that hung open from the throat, showing
the handsome waist and petticoat. Caps and
kerchiefs were universally worn during a long
term of years; fans, "pockets'* (fancy bags to
hang from the waist) and aprons of silk or fine
lawn were mere adornments; and one or two
strings of gold beads made part of the dress of
every woman who ranked in any of the upper
classes. Gloves were of silk, of wool, and of

" leather " (kid), and mitts were of varying styles
148

FASHIONS

and lengths at different periods. Calico was ex-
pensive, coming from India, and at times more
valued than silk, because more costly.

Wigs were rarely worn in the country save by
professional men, but gentlemen usually wore
their hair in a cue. And when the fashion
prevailed of cutting a boy's hair straight across
the forehead, DanieFs little troop stood in line
waiting their turns, while the mother, tying a
long knitted garter around a little head, deftly

snipped away the locks that came below it.
149

XIX

THE TORY NON-COMBATANTS

A SPIRIT of unrest under injustice was stirring
the various colonies. The Stamp Act, the Bos-
ton Port Bill, and the Tax on Tea were felt as
pressure from the hand of tyranny. " The lux-
ury of being free " was craved, entreated, and
finally fought for, not without fear on the part
of many wise men regarding the outcome for a
people without united government, with neither
army nor treasury. " The first revolutionary
assembly that convened in Boston promulgated
the principle of the revolution of 1688 — * Resist-
ance to unjust laws is obedience to God,' and it
became a watchword throughout the colonies." *
The great body of the people were ready to risk

* Seward on death of Daniel Webster, United States
Senate, December, 1852.

150

THE TORY NON-COMBx\TANTS

the issue. But inheritance is a gathering of many

streams :

"Thou hast inherited thy father's lands
And all his debts thereon," —

his faith, his opinions, his prejudices, as well as
his tastes and temperament. With the first ef-
forts in the struggle a large part of the Church-
men felt themselves on the side of the King.
However great might be their sympathy with the
gathering armies, to the elders at least loyalty
was a matter of conscience. The Church was, in
a measure, under the King's protection and sup-
port, and the prayers of the faithful were for his
welfare. Many quickly solved the problem by re-
moval to the Provinces of Nova Scotia and Can-
ada; some were so outspoken in their allegiance
that they were requested to remove; some boldly
followed the British army, or secretly aided its
purpose. The question was full of difficulty not
easily appreciated by later generations, in face of
the result. Many a man who had fought with all
his heart for the King in the colonial wars now
fought against him, and many who did not take
up arms in the revolution gladly saw their sons

do so in the war of 1812; the transferrence of
151

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

allegiance is a slower process with some than
with others.

The impetuous nature is always more militant
than the sedate, and the searcher of genealogies
is easily convinced of the influence of heredity.
The professions, public office, the army, the sea,
seem often as much a matter of inheritance as
bonds and acres, and the soldier born is better
than the soldier made. The first call roused the
fighting blood, not only that near the large cen-
tres and seaports where tidings came quickly, but
also in the upper districts.

Connecticut was not as eager for the war as
some of the other colonies. She believed always
in government by the people as distinguished
from " the divine right of kings." Each man had
by representation his share of action when the
General Court met " to agitate the affairs of the
Commonwealth." Her charter secured to her
special privileges, and save during the Andros
episode she had always elected her own govern-
or and other officers. She bore, moreover, a
distinctive temper, a spirit of moderation, that
owing to her growth under the peculiar liberties

of her charter and constitution gave to her chil-
152

THE TORY NON-COMBATANTS

dren a special character. The conservatism of
the Church of England, which gained her strong-
est foothold in New England in this Colony, and
at the outbreak of the revolution had twenty
clergy and forty churches, was also not without
influence.

The twelve years from 1763 to 1775 were
those of great prosperity to Connecticut, but al-
though, when the Stamp Act passed Parliament,
Franklin wrote home, "The sun of liberty is
set; you must Hght up the candles of industry
and economy,'' there were many who would
not accept the situation. As early as 1774
the " Sons of Liberty " banded, and on village-
greens set up tall poles with " Liberty " carved
on them, while the " Daughters of Liberty "
bound themselves to suffer any discomfort or
privation rather than use or wear the product of
the oppressing country.*

Injustice in any form was deplored, was men-
tally resisted, and the success of the Colonial
Agency at the Court of Great Britain was part
of the petition enjoined upon the people in the
Thanksgiving Proclamation, while " Touch not,

* Appendix 301.
153

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

taste not, handle not " tea, served as a text for
many a sermon. The desire for greater free-
dom was strong, but the sober side of
war with a great power, and the possibilities
that might follow success in arms, even as they
did arise in the critical period, stayed many a
voice and foot in the beginning. To protect a
sea-coast from the St. John in New Brunswick
almost to the St. John's in Florida, and a
frontier extending from the tip of Maine, skirting
the great lakes and dipping into the wide river
valleys, was enough to make a wise head shake
doubtingly.

Still, many a man's heart longed to go for-
ward whose feet were bound to the threshold.
He might serve on the Alarm List, " training "
at stated intervals and holding himself ready
for a call that might, and perhaps did, come.
But to supply the army and the famihes, crops
must be cultivated; the women and children,
the aged and the feeble, could not do all the
work; therefore if six brothers entered the lists,
the seventh remained behind.

Besides these martyrs in will, if not in deed,
there were the Tory non-combatants, those who

154

THE TORY NON-COMBATANTS

neither helped nor hindered the enemy. These,
though in sympathy with the movement for in-
dependence in 1776, stayed their hands, deeming
allegiance due the King despite unjust rule, but
though praying always " that his heart might be
moved to the more reasonable ministering of his
subjects' affairs," were unwilling to lift sword
against him. The Church clergy of Connecticut
held a convention in New Haven, July 23, 1776,
and resolved to suspend the services in their
churches, which, with only two or three ex-
ceptions, was done. Some of the rectors suf-
fered unjust accusation and imprisonment, while
others, Hke Parson Newton, were permitted to
abide in peace as long as the church remained
closed, and prayers for the King were not uttered
in the name of the people.

When the war-cry sounded, although Daniers
eldest son was a well-grown stripling of seven-
teen, and Daniel himself but a little past forty
years of age, they remained deaf to the call, as
did most of their name and kindred, all of whom
were members of the Church of England. The
slaves of the household, now numbering in old

and young eleven, bound to their master's inter-
155

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

est, and following him in religious matters, dared
not, if they would, echo the sentiments or follow
the example of others of their race, to whom
every idea of " freedom " was alluring. With
war-tidings the land was rife. Principle and
sympathy were often at variance in Tory hearts,
and almost daily one or another traversed the
roads that gave long views of the Sound and
saw the warning beacon-fires ready for lighting.

The " Spindle-tree," near the crest of Spindle-
tree Hill, was a great chestnut with a trunk
eighteen feet in circumference and fully one
hundred feet high. The lack of lower branches
proved that it had grown in the dense forest,
but the white man found it standing alone, in a
clearing the Indians had made about it. It was
an old Indian rendezvous, and the last Indians
of that district lived but a short distance from it.
That it was a resort of the arrow-makers is
proved by the quantity of arrow-heads, chips,
and unfinished arrows, found in an adjoining
field.*

This tree had served the Indians as a signal-
station in summoning the tribes, and, being

* Appendix 302.
156

THE TORY NON-COMBATANTS

visible for over twenty miles on the Sound, it
was a landmark for the white man, and was now
chosen to bear a message to watchers nearer the
shore, if the enemy should be seen advancing
over the blue waters. The tree was very
straight, and a long, slender upper limb, having
been struck by lightning, had fallen and lodged
in a fork of the tree, balancing there, and bear-
ing the appearance of the spindle so familiar to
the spinning community.

Beach, the husband of Charity, was already
under a captain's commission in the colonial
militia, and when the need arose, he and his
company of men, went from Ripton to the re-
lief of New York, having their part in the re-
treat from White Plains, and going into winter
quarters on the Hudson, under General Putnam.
They marched also when the cry arose from Dan-
bury, and when there was a call for reinforce-
ments at Peekskill, three of Beach's sons also
serving under him, or other redoubtable fighters.
His wife, Charity, true at heart still to the faith
of her youth and parentage, and firm in the be-
lief of the success of the royal cause, bore

a troubled spirit, as, eager for the fray, hus-
157

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

band and sons left her, while she had to bear
the woman's lot of uncertainty and waiting.
But women's hearts are brave, and with the
same spirit that made another woman cover the
pain of parting with, " Look out, Amos, that
you don't get shot in the hack,'' Charity implored
her daring captain to be cautious, or he " would
be caught by the conquering British and hung
on the Spindle-tree yonder."

Real warfare, however, came no closer to
these hills than plundering parties along the bor-
der of the Sound near Stratford, and Tryon's
burning, pillaging expedition.

There were, however, always foraging parties
to be feared, and captures of their boats were
not infrequently made by men of coolness and
daring. Records of such adventures were com-
mon property, and the committees of safety and
inspection in the various towns were always aiert
lest a Tory in some disguise, or in open avowal,
proved aid or pilot. They made search in
houses where sympathy was supposed to be with
the enemy, or where tea might be used. When
one of the august committee was seen ap-
proaching Daniel's house looking for tea there,

i§8

THE TORY NON-COMBATANTS

it was Mary herself who met him at the door
with a kettle of boiling water, that, in passing,
she had quickly lifted from, the fire, and said
that no one could enter without receiving the
kettle's contents on his head! And lawlessness
alone, might serve to knock up at dead of night
with a demand for cider, a man who, if he showed
a timorous spirit, could be kept on the lower
side of his cellar-door while his house was plun-
dered.

Those who, like Daniel, desired to be merely
non-combatants looked well to their words and
ways, reading the prayers for the King at family
worship, but guarding the tongue outside their
own walls, and on " being Drafted on a Towar
of Duty at Fairfield in the 6t'h Company of
Alarm List, on Refusing to Go has paid a fine of
five pounds Agreeable to an Act of Assembly
of this State."

There were excitements of various kinds to
rouse interest in people of both parties. The
New London Gazette of April 19, 1776, testifies
that Stratford village was in great tumult,
as it states: "The following odd affair hap-
pened at Stratford on the loth of last month.
159

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

A child of Mrs. Edwards, of that town,
was baptized by the Rev. Mr. Learning and
named Thomas Gage; this alarmed the neigh-
borhood, and on the 13th, one hundred and
seventy young ladies formed themselves into a
Battalion, and with solemn ceremony appointed
a General and other proper officers to lead them
on; then the Petticoat Army marched in the
greatest good order to pay their compliments
to Thomas Gage and present his mother (the
Nymphs ought to have deferred this part of the
Business says our Correspondent) with a suit of
Tar and Feathers. But Thomas's Sire having
Intelligence of their Expedition, Vi et Armis,
kept them from entering his house, so that the
female Soldiers after giving three Huzzas re-
turned to their Head Quarters without affecting
what they intended, and disbanded themselves.
Col. Whiting's wife headed them."

Of quite another interest was the great wed-
ding in Fairfield of John Hancock and Dorothy
Quincy, and it served for more than a nine days'
wonder. Boston being still under control of
the British General Gage, it was deemed ex-
pedient that Miss Dorothy meet her lover in
160

THE TORY NON-COMBATANTS

Fairfield and that the wedding take place at the
house of Mr. Thaddeus Burr. The occasion
was one for fine feathers of all sorts, and the
fame thereof reached far back on the hills. Those
so fortunate as to be bidden told the tale to
those less so, and the record of costume and
hair-dressing, of trains and petticoats, of pearls
and powder, of slippers and dancing, was far
more enjoyable than that of siege and fortress,
of pain and death.

XX

THE FRENCH ARMY

The years of war dragged on. The French
fleet arrived at Newport in the spring of 1781,
and as it was desired to reinforce Washington on
the Hudson with part of the troops, while La-
fayette himself went with the ships to Virginia,
a section of the army under the Count Rocham-
beau, the Due de Lauzun and other officers,
crossed Connecticut. De Lauzun, with his legion
of six hundred men, cavalry, hussars, grenadiers,
and lancers, passed through New Haven June
2.y, camped on Sentinel Hill, in Derby, then
wound down the steep roads, crossed Nauga-
tuck and Housatonic Rivers, and took the wind-
ing way up the west bank of the latter, finding
it necessary at times to improve the road with a
double corduroy for the passage of the heavy

wagons. Finally, the steep ascent being made,
162

THE FRENCH ARMY

the route wound around the upper hills till it
reached "the Centre" of New Stratford, now
the town of Monroe.

The road leading by such toilsome effort up
from the river reached a level near the foot of
Daniel's especial hill, and it was not possible for
such a company to move unheralded. No man
or boy, white or black, could be kept from a close
inspection, while the women and girls contented
themselves perforce with a more remote view.

Weary as the army was with the ascent, an
array of six hundred men with all the splendor of
gold lace and nodding plumes, the horses bravely
caparisoned, and the retinue of " five-cattle
teams " that had been hired to convey the heavy
baggage, was a rare sight to those whose
knowledge of military display had been limited
to the " training " of one small company of men
not even in uniform, or an occasional " trooper "
as he rode to his camp.

The army wound around the base of Bam

Hill, and, passing the green at New Stratford

after sunset, camped in a sloping meadow a

little south of the village. It was in June, " in

clover-time," and there were spent and hungry
163

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

beasts of burden waiting under the star-lit skies
for their well-earned meal, that would have been
sadly insufBcient if the patriotic William Scott
had not rallied his neighbors and mowed his
home-lot by the light of the rising moon.

The officers found comfortable quarters at the
tavern kept by Hepzibah's brother Nehemiah.
Tavern-keeping in such places was a most re-
spectable business. The taverns were the early
mail stations, and when all public transports and
service were lacking mine host must be a man
of responsibility — often the foremost man of the
village — ready, if need be, to meet emergencies,
and to be trusted with affairs pertaining to the
State. He must be a man to keep his own coun-
sel and able to counsel others, and with oppor-
tunities within reach of few for communication
with the powers that be.

The French officers, de Lauzun, who spoke
English readily, Dillon, de Hoen, and others,
found interest and pleasure in this life. Com-
fortable quarters, a social and stirring host with
good French blood in his veins, a man with
natural ease, genial address and politeness of

manner, of keen insight and discerning mind,
164

THE FRENCH ARMY

contrasted agreeably with army life. The
other gentlemen of the village were ready for
all kind and hospitable entertainment, for friend-
liness and courtesy, and as the full moon made
the summer evenings alluring, the musicians of
the army called out the gentlemen's daughters,
who, to prove their sympathy with the cause of
freedom, danced with the officers on the green,
one of them, alas ! dancing her heart away.

While the army lingered a son was born to
Nehemiah, and named for the commander of the
legion, " de Lauzun.'' When camp was broken
and farewells said, one of the officers left his
rapier with the squire as a souvenir, the blade
of which bears to the present day the inscription
of the maker in Paris.

This peaceful side of war held great charm,
and every boy, were his sympathies Federal or
Tory, sought the camp. Daniel's elder sons,
sitting their horses with the younger boys be-
hind them, hardly knew which side would claim
their allegiance under the beauty of French uni-
forms and the glitter of their accoutrements. It
seemed far more like leading to a successful issue

than a company of men in every-day dress sup-
165

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

plemented by muskets and canteens. But they
had been so thoroughly educated to respect ex-
isting authority, and they were by inheritance
so entirely of that strain of loyalty that is long-
enduring and slow of change, that withal they
could not believe freedom desirable or at-
tainable. So they returned to their life, little
touched by the mighty signs, for when they
recounted the tale of splendor every lingering
influence was checked by a bidding to go into
the parlor and look at the King!

So that army came and went, leaving one
French soldier, Louis Luriche, on the hills, and
this man told the story of the Frenchman's use
of tobacco. In the early summer the tobacco,
cultivated for many years in Connecticut, was
in small leaf. The soldiers never having seen it
growing, marvelled much over its use, and
finally, with true French instinct, concluded it
must be something to put in soup, which they
did forthwith!

The war meant more than strife and blood-
shed, defeat or victory, whichever side enlisted
one's sympathies or however aloof one kept
from action. There was sorrow in the hearts and

1 66

THE FRENCH ARMY

homes whose brave men came not back. There
was a shadow of poverty hovering over many
households, and some of the ordinary necessaries
of Hfe were attainable, if to be had at all, only at
immoderate prices. Salt was %2y a bushel, and in
1777 John Adams wrote from Philadelphia, " all
the old women and young children have gone to
the Jersey shore to make salt." Pepper, spices,
and West India products were almost out of the
market; cornstalks were ground to make molas-
ses, the West India product rising to $20 a gal-
lon. Tea was as hig'h as $90 a pound, butter $12,
linen $20 a yard, and ordinary calico $30 and
$40, the exchange of continental or colonial
money for " hard money " being from 70 to 75
per cent. Even the school-boys were put to an
exercise of wits for proper appHances, and as,
owing to privateering, writing-paper was very
scarce, they worked out their arithmetical prob-
lems on birch-bark instead Pins were not to
be had for love or mone ^ and all imported
dress materials were both dear and scarce. In
all these matters Federals and Loyalists suffered

the same privation.

167

XXI

THE UNCERTAIN YEARS

This period of conflict brought other phases
of Hfe to DanieFs household. When the winter
of 1778 was passing into spring, Queen Esther
realized that her earthly life was drifting away
also, even before its sum of years was quite
threescore and ten. One night, as she and
Thaddeus sat before the fire, the words that for
days had been hovering about her lips were
spoken with that quiet composure with which the
true-hearted face net only the inevitable, but
also the realization of their faith, and she told
him what he could see only too well, that the
hour of separation a ^as near. So she planned his
future — that the younger Thaddeus should has-
ten his marriage, and bring to the house he was
to inherit the young wife, and kinswoman, to

whose filial care she must trust the dear husband,

168

THE UNCERTAIN YEARS

SO close already to the burden of eighty years.
She spoke not only of separation but of reunion,
of the life that had been, and that would be, and
her mind was at rest.

May had barely shed its beauty on the out-
side world when the joy of Thaddeus' home
was removed, and after three years of loneliness
the great light shone for him also, and his mor-
tal body was laid beside hers in the dear church-
yard at Ripton, where the gravestones remain
to this day. The inscription on that of Thad-
deus records their faith:

" The Woman's Seed shall bruise the Serpent's Head
And Christ shall raise his Servants from the dead."

Nor was sorrow at this sundering of earthly
ties the only supreme emotion in the lives of
Daniel and Mary and their children. Esther
grown to sweet young maidenhood, a rosy-
cheeked and blue-eyed girl, sedate and dig-
nified, ere her eighteenth summer dawned had
given heart and hand to the son of a Newtown
squire and crossed the Half-way River (half way
from Stratford to Woodbury) to her new home.
Despite the high prices caused by the war, her

setting-out was not inferior, having its full com-
169

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

plement of silver, china, pewter, linen, furniture,
an " Irish-stitch " (damask) table-cloth, and two
slaves, Jack and Peg.

On October 19, 1781, down in Virginia, ^
thrilling moment came. Between the lines
of the French army, with Rochambeau at its
head, and the American army led by Washing-
ton, marched a line of red-coated officers, the
foremost. Major O'Hara, bearing the sword of
Cornwallis, while the British drums beat the air
" The world turned topsy-turvy." * To all sym-
pathizers with the King, it seemed so, and the
Federals themselves found victory at arms not
the only success needed. There was long wait-
ing and much petty warfare ere the Treaty of
Peace was signed, followed by the long six years
before the Constitution was adopted, during which
every lawless and discontented spirit sought to
take advantage of the unformed government.
The Union, which, from the peril of its birth, had
passed through infancy only by sacrifice and self-
surrender on the part of its guardians, now, like a
tempestuous boy, seemed ruled by every vagary.
Firm hands and wise heads must direct its course,

* Appendix 302.
170

THE UNCERTAIN YEARS

and " as victory was granted them in the hour of
battle, so wisdom was now in the days of peace.
The history of the world furnishes no parallel to
this condition and its outcome." Even amid
all the minor disturbances between '83 and '89
schools and colleges multiplied, slavery came
virtually to an end at the North, commerce with
China and other countries began, and, however
perplexed were affairs of state, many private en-
terprises started on the road to success. This
condition, however, obtained more in the busy
centres than in the rural districts. Agriculture
had suffered some neglect because of the lives
given to, or lost by, the sword. A smut appeared
on the wheat, caused by the " Hessian fly," an
insect supposed to have been imported with the
Hessians' baggage, and for fifty years after the
war little or no wheat was raised in this part of
western Connecticut. The slaves were variously
treated. Connecticut's legislature declared all
born after 1784 free at twenty-five years of age.
Some masters granted freedom at once to all
their colored retainers, many of whom, however,
preferred remaining where they were sure of

care and comfort, finding their interests too
171

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

closely identified with their masters' to desire
change, but some were ever ready to give them-
selves to any disturbance. Among the latter was
Bose, a " likely " negro of Daniel's, about seven-
teen years old, who, under the influence of other
restless spirits, ran away in 1787 to join Shay's
rebelHon in Massachusetts, finding his way back,
however, after a brief period, no longer a lad of
promise, but with impaired mind, having doubt-
less received a severe blow on the head. Bose
was a native African who had come into Daniel's
household during the early years of the war. He
was very black, of a forbidding countenance,
and had given promise of much capacity, but re-
turned from his adventure with a cloud over his
nature as well as over his mind. It was evident
that he had been overcome, recovered himself,
and again plunged into the fray, as, although
after his return he never spoke unless spoken to,
his reply was always supplemented with '* fought
agin." Every morning he appeared before his
master for orders, for, being no longer capable of
taking his place with the able-bodied workers, he
was set about lighter matters, and on receiving

directions his reply was invariably, " Yis, sir;
172

THE UNCERTAIN YEARS

fouglit agin," unless he doubled the emphasis
with " fought agin; yis, sir; fought agin." The
boys of the neighborhood held him in awe, for,
although he watched them at their games with-
out disturbing them, he was never seen to smile;
but they had difficulty in hiding their own
amusement when, at their request, those more at
home with him would ask a simple question for
the sake of hearing the inevitable " fought agin."
There seemed also to arise in him some mem-
ory of a past in a far-off land, that found expres-
sion in certain rites undoubtedly full of meaning
to him, devoid of it as they appeared to others.
Sticks of a certain length, carefully notched, and
particular pieces of string, carried always in his
pockets, were brought out at every leisure mo-
ment, and, with a muttering like an incantation,
were handled with the same spirit of devotion a
Romanist has for a rosary. With these sticks and
strings he measured everything, and if mischiev-
ous little boys laid hands on them, he simply pro-
cured others as soon as possible, with never a
look or word of blame. His pockets also con-
tained bits of salt pork, with which he greased

not only these treasures but his garters and hat-
173

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

band. These rites seemed of such importance to
his disordered mind that he was not disturbed in
them, and in all ways was treated by Daniel with
that kind consideration that marks the gentle-
man who is both Christian and master.

Benjamin, the second son, though " brought
up to college," had not fulfilled that expectation.
The war was a disturber of many plans; the
Latin Grammar did not prove entrancing, for the
bright eyes and laughing words of a girl had
cast a spell over him that even the associa-
tions of " Brainerd's Rock " could not withstand.
David Brainerd, of Haddam, the first missionary
to the Stockbridge Indians, having been ex-
pelled from Yale College because of his sym-
pathy with Whitefield's preaching, had been
kindly received by the Rev. Jedediah Mills, who
considered the treatment unjust, and he was by
him prepared for the ministry. About half a mile
from Mr. Mills' house at the Centre, back from
the highway and under spreading branches, in a
peaceful meadow, was a great boulder, which the
persecuted student sought so often that the tradi-
tion thereof made it a resort for scholars of sev-
eral generations. But the influence failed when
174

THE UNCERTAIN YEARS

Benjamin had so charming a vision ever before
his mind's eye, and he was not sorry when, during
the war the Yale classes being scattered, the
freshmen at Farmington, sophomores and juniors
at Glastonbury, and a few seniors under Tutor
Dwight in New Haven, there seemed no sure-
ness of outcome, and his line of Hfe passed from
books to nature, from Latin roots to Mother
Earth's harvests.

175

XXII

ST. PUMPKIN'S DAY AND CHRISTMAS

For the Churchman the result of the war was
fraught with consequences almost beyond his
hopes. It was with deep joy and thankful-
ness in the hearts of those who loved her orders
and her services that the Rev. Samuel Seabury,
duly elected Bishop of Connecticut, set sail to
receive consecration for that holy office. It was
granted, as it proved, not at the hands of the
English bishops, who were prohibited by the
English ministry from delegating such power to
one who could not swear allegiance to the King,
but at the hands of the nonjuring bishops, the
Scotch hierarchy at Aberdeen.

Seabury's sympathy had not been with the

Declaration of Independence. In 1775 he had

suffered persecution, arrest, confinement, and

destruction of property, and had finally taken

refuge in New York, acting as chaplain to the
176

ST. PUMPKIN'S DAY AND CHRISTMAS

Loyal American (Tory) regiment. At the end of
the war he did not embark for Nova Scotia be-
fore Sir Guy Carleton withdrew his forces from
New York, as did many under inducement from
the Crown, but remained, beheving that the way
would be opened for the church of his love and
devotion.

The years of struggle had tempered his feeling,
and, with strong hope, Seabury left the shores
of New England, to be invested by the Right
Reverend Fathers in God with the power that
would enable his " Mother the Church " to bear
her full measure in forming the lives of many
who were to grow up as rulers and servants in
the new nation. In oneness of purpose much
party feeling had been buried. Philemon Rob-
bins of Bradford, who preached openly after the
Stamp Act in favor of resistance, and condemned
the doctrine of passive obedience and non-re-
sistance, as " a doctrine held only by the high-
flying Churchman," had no longer need for his
terms of reproach, and Seabury's own words that
he " presumed the Church people had as much
religion as their neighbors," would not now be

uttered in the same ironical spirit.
177

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

On Seabury's first visitation as Bishop to the
various parishes, he confirmed not only the
young who were " sufiiciently instructed," but
those of all ages who had been admitted to the
Holy Communion, which, in parishes including
several churches, sometimes numbered a few
hundreds. The church at Ripton again opened
its doors, and it was with deep gratitude that
Parson Newton, so long loved and 'honored,
gathered his flock before him, ministering to
them as of old. And he was thankful that in his
latter days he could present to the Bishop his
body of communicants, who were all well-in-
structed Churchmen ready to receive the rite of
confirmation, so far known to them only as an
inheritance due but not accorded, save to the
few who had crossed the sea to receive the rite.

Again Christmas and Easter might be kept
as a Churchman would, for, despite New Eng-
land influence, Christmas was to members of the
historic church more important than Thanks-
giving. No member of a church household
willingly remained away from the special service
which, with the Sacrament, gave the day its high-
est character. The Christmas-eve service was
178

ST. PUMPKIN'S DAY AND CHRISTMAS

of interest to many outside the flock. The dress-
ing of evergreens and the windows Hghted by-
rows of candles made an attraction irresistible to
the meeting-house children who were allowed to
attend this one church service of the year. ^

If the snow lay deep or the roads were rough,
ox-carts and sleds served as conveyances. On a
bright Christmas morning when the white
blanket of winter was spread over meadow, hill-
side, and roadway, an ox-sled guarded at each
side by an upright board, and seated with six
kitchen chairs, placed two abreast, waited while
Jube chose his best whip, and with many direc-
tions settled in place the elder and the younger
slaves. 'Mandy, with numberless cautions, left
the fire and the closed oven-door to Moll's care,
and with the little ones crowded about her kept
a place for her mother-in-law still living at the
house of Thaddeus. Master and mistress, with
their own children, had led the way on horses,
and thus the " keeping Christmas " was begun.
It seemed to the children to have begun before,
as there had been offerings made to the god of
fire for days. The little hands wearied not in

bringing in chips and kindUngs to aid the bak-
179

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

ing and the boiling, and the store-room door
closed on a mine. Which of them could count
the pies of mince and tart, of pumpkin, and
apple, in long rows on the shelves, or measure
the depths of the cider-apple-sauce in the big
stone-pots? And there were meats ready for
the carver, ham and tongue pink and tender,
spare-ribs and chicken-pies, loaves of cake that
showed crisped raisins, and an infinitude of cook-
ies that, no matter how earnestly 'Mandy tried
to hide the secret of their making, the opening
of the oven-door always betrayed.

Christmas, and Thanksgiving Day also (the
latter called in derision by Churchmen St. Pomp-
ion's, or St. Pumpkin's, Day), were the rallying
days for families. As years flew by, the children
of Daniel and Mary having settled in their own
homes here and there, the younger households
grew in numbers, and there were gay gatherings
within the walls and under the roof, so elastic
in its hospitality and measureless in its welcome.
Ingenuity was often put to the test to place all
remaining over the nights, and although the
greater number arrived after the church ser-
vice, and sought their own homes in the early

i8o

ST. PUMPKIN'S DAY AND CHRISTMAS

or late evenings, those living remotely were sure
of comfort.

The long dining-table and small tables set
in the corners of the room for the children,
made a " board " groaning indeed with its
plenitude, around which all stood with the
hush of reverence while grace was said. The
children's eyes shone as tlie young pig, roasted
to a turn and bearing a red apple in his mouth,
followed the boiled Indian pudding, of which
sympathetic mothers had served them sparingly
knowing there were daintier bits to follow, for
no child properly trained might leave a portion
uneaten. Eager appetites, but restrained hands,
took thankfully all that was assigned of baked
and boiled, stewed quinces and apple-sauce,
pickled samphire and home-made cheese, pies
and custards, while there was endless liberty
afterward among the apples in the cellar and
the nuts in the garret.

The children played the games their fathers and
mothers had played, and when evening prayers
and the good-byes to those who lived near were
said, then the old house spread its wide wings
and the hours of silence found the beds and

i8i

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

trundle-beds that had been well warmed by the
long-handled brass warming-pan, all showing
the forms of sleepers. Even the " cricket-bed-
stead " — the old-time cot-bed made by two
pairs of cross-pieces (French criquet) connected
by poles and spread with heavy tow-cloth
— that with one end tucked under 'Mandy's
couch held usually one of her grandc^hildren, was
pulled out at full length, and little woolly-heads
at both ends proved the surrender of other rest-
ing-places. For Esther had come from New-
town with Philo, her husband, and Peg as aid
and nurse to their little ones.

When the children were safely drifted into the
stream of sleep, the elders sat long before the
glowing fires in affectionate and happy compan-
ionship, and from the steaming punch-bowl
drank to each other in good wishes for the
future, then before separating, and all standing,
they drank in silence " to the memory of the
departed.'*

I82

XXIII
THE DAUGHTER'S EDUCATION

Son after son coming of age had received a
portion of land — the property qualification neces-
sary to make him a voter — and, soon marrying,
had settled on the hills near or far. Thaddeus in
the grandfather's house, Benjamin on Booth's
Hill, Jeremiah on Israel's Hill, William and
Gershom on Grassy Hill, Esther in Newtown,
left by the time Gloriana reached young lady-
hood, only Isaiah at home and the younger
brother Victory.

Gloriana, in figure like her father, tall and

slight, with brown hair and gray eyes, of bright

mind and clear comprehension, had the pride,

the aspirations, and the day-dreams of most

young girls. As at Esther's marriage she was

but ten years old, she had grown up as the only

daughter of the household, her father's especial
183

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

pride and delight, and the only daughter of a
man of wealth might well expect a good share
of the opportunities of life, and a gratification of
such desires as stirred her ambition or her fancy.
But travel was arduous and not undertaken save
for necessity. An occasional ride in the saddle to
Stratford or Newtown, and possibly once in a
year or two to New Haven, made the farthest
bound of outings. The interest of one's environ-
ment sufficed in large measure, and there was
little printed record to stir a desire for journey-
ings for the mere sake of so doing.

The business interests of the inland families
were still effectively served by the able cap-
tains. Marketable products of all kinds, candles
and tow-cloth, beeswax, and flaxseed, goose-
quills by the hundred and hogs' bristles by the
pound, shoe-thread and feathers as well as fruits,
vegetables, salted meats, and cider, were con-
signed with confidence to Robert Moore, cap-
tain of the schooner Sea-cow, and the other
captains at The Landing, Ripton's seaport, or
to those who sailed from The Narrows at Derby,
or from the Pequonnock.

Remote from the competitive centres as the
184

THE DAUGHTER'S EDUCATION

life was, its standard was never lowered, and
Daniel himself being counted " very dressy," had
an eye to whatever might reasonably be obtained
for personal adornment for wife and daughter,
as well as for himself, and kept some pace with
the novelties in house-furnishing. England had
begun manufacturing pottery and porcelain,
and, although the neighbors feared lest the hard
surface should dull the edges of the knives, they
could not withhold their envy and admiration
for the dark-blue and white Spode dinner-
service. It was at first reserved for state oc-
casions, but ere long supplanted pewter on
the master's table, sending the latter to the
slaves' kitchen to take the place of wooden
plates.

Rag-carpets had been evolved from the brain
of some inventive weaver, and while an ingrain
carpet honored the parlor, strips, or whole cov-
erings of " hit-or-miss " rag-carpet gradually
swept the sand from the other floors. The par-
lor gloried in a wall-paper of rich floral pattern,
and la;ter in a mirror with a wide all-gilt frame,
and four blue and white vases for the mantel-
piece completed its adornment. Glass-ware be-
185

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

came common, and wash-bowls and pitchers of
blue and white English pottery were a marked
advance over the coarse earthen-ware, and the
pewter, brass, and wooden basins of earlier use.
Mary was indulged in a black satin cardinal
cloak, " 7 yards of black satin at 8/6 a yard,
2-^/4-^/3 yards of black Persian for lining at
9/," to which was added a wide lace to trim the
collar.

There were as yet no boarding-schools, and
Gloriana had but the advantages of the district-
school, and the singing-school held every winter
in the evenings in the little school-house, one of
the regular pleasures, both social and musical,
for the young people. All learned to read music,
Andrew Law's " Rudiments of Music " being
the usual text-book. The selections were chiefly
hymns and anthems, and the preliminary instruc-
tion gave the pronunciation of the notes " faw,"
" law," etc., also the admonition, " the principal
thing in singing is to have the heart deeply ef-
fected by the great truth matter in our melody,
that it be done with solemnity, and due rever-
ence before the Judge of quick and dead."

As there was little of the outer world by which
186

THE DAUGHTER'S EDUCATION

to measure themselves, there was bred in these
isolated communities a spirit of repose and con-
tent, ambition never slumbering, but free from
restlessness. Youth, as always, found its pleas-
ure in frequent meetings for dancing, riding,
boating, and the strolls and visits ever dear. The
semi-annual " Trainings " were the great excite-
ment, full of Hfe and bustle, and a chance for
meeting strangers. Ripton had its ball-room,
and the great Leavenworth house down by the
river was a centre for pleasure. The older
house, " the mansion," built by Dr. Thomas
Leavenworth in 1685, was wonderfully adorned
with hangings of arras and other articles of value
brought by him from England. In 1778 his
grandson, Gideon Leavenworth, built the red
house, and to it some of the hangings were re-
moved. This ambitious and enterprising builder
and ship-owner brought from New York in one
of his vessels a Frenchman who frescoed the
parlor in fine arabesque pattern, painting also
the family coat-of-arms on the chimney-breast.
In the upper story of this house was a ball-room,
for Mr. Leavenworth having several daughters,

desired to make his house a centre for pleasure,
187

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

the " balls " being simply dancing-parties as al-
ways, more exclusive than public balls.

Mary herself, fond of social pleasures, was ever
ready for any festivity, and also to mount her
horse and canter off for a friendly visit. Cousin
Charity's house was one goal and Hepzibah's
another, the visits growing in value as the years
passed, and friendship proved its strength, but
if she saw the traces of years on her friends, she
was herself, in feeling and activity, as young as
when she first came to reign over the great
house.

The Tories were slow in coming into public
ofifice, but those who had been prominent in
the days of warfare were so now in the days of
peace. Captain Beach was a member of the
legislature at Hartford, and Charity, accompany-
ing him there, gave opportunity for the painting
of their portraits by an English artist, who faith-
fully reproduced the elderly but still handsome
captain, with his high collar and ruffled shirt,
and his queenly Charity in gown of brown satin,
white cap, and kerchief, and the double row of
gold beads she had worn since her marriage.
These finely painted portraits, and those of

THE DAUGHTER'S EDUCATION

Squire Mills and his wife, at Ripton, by the same
hand, moved the neighborhood to a high state
of interest and excitement, for whatever one or
another brought from busier centres was freely-
exhibited, and was the subject of comment, or
approval, perhaps of envy.

The very small " tea-dishes " of Mary's mar-
riage were supplemented by those of newer pat-
tern, set with a wreath of flowers about the brim.
The cups and saucers had grown larger, custard-
cups with handles had appeared, and tea-sets of
black Wedgwood were sometimes to be had at
the store of Squire Mills in Ripton, which had
long been of wide reputation and included every-
thing needed for house or farm, for master or
servant, for food or clothing.

By 1786, The New Haven Gazette and Connecti-
cut Magazine began to find its way to the hills
regularly, William Carpenter, the post-rider, de-
livering it at appointed stations. Such easy and
frequent contact with the world beyond marked
an epoch, and the eight pages, each about twelve
inches square, published at 9/ per annum, were
thoroughly read and digested, the advertisements

of various kinds being of increasing interest.
189

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

No matter how important are affairs of state, per-
sonality is attractive, and even if it is strangers
that advertise — " Stolen in New Haven a white
satin cloak (woman's) lined with Hght blue Per-
sian, trimmed with white thread lace " — " Lost
out of saddle-bags black taffety sack and petti-
coat, claret-colored taffety and a crimson colored
mif^net gown " — that feeling is stirred that
makes the whole world kin.

TKfe Gtdfegft LfeA^ftSeo^ Hokfe. feMltfftltf*

XXIV
YOUNG LADYHOOD

Stratfoed village, the home of maternal
grandparents and numberless kindred, could add
much to the gayety of a girl's life, and Gloriana
knew well what pleasure she might find at Lazy
Bank, in Tea-party Lane, and all up and down
the wide street from Paradise Green to Sandy
Hollow. Here she met her first lover, who, ere
she was seventeen, had gone so far in his court-
ing as to write to her with better fervor than
orthography, with a flourish of capitals and exal-
tation of feeling, the latter serving to entangle
expression and to prove his youth. The letter,
with signature carefully cut out, has been thus

long preserved.

Stratford, March 22nd, 1788.
Dr. Miss.

Since our last happy meeting it's with pleas-
ure I inform you that I have enjoyed my health
191

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

as usual, hoping these to find you in the like
situation. O Gloriana may that Last happy time
with the blessing of God, When I had those En-
dearing sentiments of your soul Bestowed upon
me Add lasting happiness to that striking Object
of which I [signature cut out renders a few words
illegible]. But oh, let not the little Distance
we are appart deprive us of Each other — with
a pleasing melancholy this letter takes place in-
stead of my person. But as it's the lott of many
must submitt, hoping the little Vacation Between
our personal Appearance to wear away when I
may Embrace that happy moment in Being with
a long & absent friend — and Could wish that our
absence may add Lasting friendship to our
future happiness. The subject on which we talkt
of is firmly established & only your Complyance
wanting to Compleat our happiness. Your
Countenance Actions and lovely features is not
out of my mind one moment and as you have the
charge of my heart you'l hold it sacred on my
account. As this Bosom Pin is prickt through
this letter so I hope your heart Linkt in with
mine and hope will be as lasting as Abraham &

Abdely who lived in perfect peace and harmony.

192

YOUNG LADYHOOD

Writing and Receiving of Letters Especially
from a friend is Very Beneficial. But to Re-
ceive one from your Ladyship I shall esteem as
heaven's blessing. But either by meeting per-
sonally or by letters would be the means of Re-
viving that little acquaintance which I have had
with you, and to support a Correspondence
which if it should prove otherways would be an
Embarrassment not small.

I have nothing more to advise of at present
only that all friends are well and my Comply-
ments to all yours. I hope to see you soon As
I cannot live so Abstemious a life, so after wish-
ing you all the happiness this world Can afford,
which I expect you'l let me have a Httle share of,
I in the interim of time Remain your Ever Af-
fectionate friend & Lover

N.B. An Answer from you by the same
Bearer would be Convayd with safety — ^which I
shall expect.

So no more at present."

The large time-yellowed sheet still shows

where a long pin had been " prickt " through it,
193

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

and undoubtedly treasured as well as the letter,
even though the youth built on too slight a
foundation, for after a time the correspondence
ceased, and Gloriana finding" life full of pleasure,
felt no haste to enter into matrimony. When
she sat at her chamber-window facing the
sunset, putting fine even stitches in her em-
broidery, she pondered on this lover and that,
and though their little gifts mig'ht be treasured,
and the letters well conned, there was but " nay "
to answer.

There was great readiness to take up a pen,
and frequent opportunity to send a letter by
hand of passing friend or neighbor; girls who
found each other congenial were quick tO' bridge
the separating distance by frequent communica-
tions, and interchange of confidences. Down
in Oronoque, on the way to Stratford, a fine
old house still remembered, was named by the
romantic daughter for Petrarch's home in
France, Vaucluse, and the girl's letters bore that
heading. Gloriana's dearest girl-friend, however,
was a Miss Patty, of North Stratford, and even if
they met with much regularity on Sundays,

there was always something to be said on week-
194

YOUNG LADYHOOD

days. Miss Patty thus begins the correspond-
ence:

" With pleasure do I dedicate these spare
moments to the Sweet converse with my much
esteemed friend — for when I take a Retrospect-
ive vew of the past year of pleasure & improve-
ment I have enjoyed in your company I flatter
myself the pleasing Anticipation of an agreeable
& happy Correspondence to be commenced and
when com/menced I hope it may be long continued
and promoted. I should be glad to know how
you spent your time or who with a-Training —
we spent our time very agreeable — there was all-
most every Lad here from Danbury — I am cer-
tain had you been here your heart would have
been pierced if it had not been Marble — I hope
to see you at Church Sunday if nothing happens
more than I expect I shall be there. " Good by
from her who never ceases to admire you & is
by every sentiment of humanity " yours in es-
teem and friendship

Patty.

P.S. Love to all."

Over more than a century has drifted down-
ward some of Miss Patty's confidences, frag-
195

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

mentary, but giving their evidence of the one-
ness of humanity, however the age and environ-
ment may differ:

1788.
Dear Miss.

Yours of Sunday evening lies before me. It
is an old observation that it " is much easier to
continue a Correspondence than to begin one."
I fully join with you as to the absence of Ideas
in the first forming acquaintance; this obstacle
being now Removed I hope for the future all
letters may follow the fate of the first.

I am exceedingly fond of Corresponding with
both Gentlemen and Ladies, particularly the lat-
ter and still more especially those possessed
of the first and Richest of Heaven's gifts: — A
Susceptible Heart! The Breast that can feel for
another's woes; the eye that can glisten with
•another's sorrows; the mind that can sympa-
thize in a stranger's adversity or participate in
their pleasure, is as much superior to a Bosom
of Common feelings as the charm of the "...

It is a source of regret that but this fragment
196

YOUNG LADYHOOD

remains, for the Unale must have stirred Miss
Patty deeply. All her correspondents were not
equally fervent. One addressing- her with no
formal beginning wrote:

"Withdraw thy foot from thy neig-hbor's
house, lest he grow weary " Saith the Scripture.
" Withdraw thy foot " Replies the feelings to
a too frequent visitor. I look down street every
night wishing to see you, but I am at your house
quite too often, I know I am, for a stranger. I
conclude some of the Ladies are not very anx-
ious to See me. I Remember one of them told
me she would let me know when they visited
Miss Eunice Curtiss, I was not admitted last
Monday even, — however, all one tomorrow.

But to tell you the truth! I have not Seen

a well Day for near a fortnight and whether

ever I shall again or not is uncertain. But I am

prepared for almost everything; lightly esteem

this world. I think I have some desire to sail

upon a star. I have chosen mine, I view it every

clear night, I contemplate futurity, there is

something very pleasing to me in the tho'ts of

a future existence that I can fully let go all

finite enjoyments: forgive me I am in a thought-
197

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

ful mood this morning — you well know I am
fond of Your Correspondence.

Yours this 29th Day

T. M.

The marriage of Isaiah left only the younger

Victory at home with Gloriana, but the maiden

never lacked " a squire " when festivities called

out pleasure-lovers, and, in her fine gowns of

pearl-gray and peach-blow satin, the tall girl

failed not of observation. The slippers worn

with those rich gowns were of the same satin,

and there were others of black kid bound with

deep yellow, the very pointed toes wrought with

beads and spangles. All travelling was still on

saddle and pillion, and the ride to Ripton

church, was with a fine gown pinned up about the

waist, and covered with a dust-cloth. Long mitts

covered the bare arms and the hands that held

the prayer-book bound in red and gold morocco.

Besides the service of the sanctuary there was

the usual chance for friendly meetings, the

luncheon at a kinsman's house, the strolling

among the graves in the churchyard, reading

for the hundredth time that outlet for the re-
198

YOUNG LADYHOOD

pressed feeling of the day — the sentimental verse
inscribed on the tombstone — and the oppor-
tunity to give a bashful swain a few words that
might prove a sweet cud for his meditation.

XXV

BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS

By the president
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A Proclamation.

Whereas it is the Duty of all Nations to ac-
knowledge the Providence of Almighty God,
to obey his will, to be grateful for his Benefits,
and humbly to implore his Protection and
Favor; And whereas both Houses of Congress
have, by their joint Committee, requested me
"To recommend to the People of the United
States a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer
to be observed by acknowledging with grateful
Hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty
God especially by aflfording them an Opportu-
nity peaceably to establish a Form of Govern-
ment for their Safety and Happiness,"

Now THEREFORE, I do rccommcud and assign

BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS

Thursday, the Twenty-sixth Day of November
next to be devoted by the People of these States
to the service of that great and glorious Being,
who is the benificent Author of all the good that
was, that is, or that will be:

That we may then all unite in rendering unto
Him our sincere and humble Thanksgiving for
his kind Care and Protection of the People of
this Country previous to their becoming a Na-
tion; for the signal and manifold Mercies and
the favorable Interpositions of his Providence
in the Course and Conclusion of the late war;
for the great Degree of Tranquility, Union, and
Plenty, which we have since enjoyed; for the
peaceable and rational Manner in which we have
been enabled to establish Constitutions of Gov-
ernment for our Safety and Happiness, and par-
ticularly the national one now lately insti-
tuted;— for the civil and religious Liberty with
which we are blessed, and the Means we have of
acquiring and diffusing useful Knowledge; — and
in general for all the great and various Favors
which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also. That we may then unite in most
humbly offering our Prayers and Supplications

201

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to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and be-
seech him to pardon our national and other
Transgressions; to enable us all, whether in pub-
lic or private Stations, to perform our several
and relative Duties properly and punctually; —
to render our national Government a Blessing to
all the People by constantly being a Government
of wise, just, and Constitutional Laws, discreetly
and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect
and guide all Sovereigns and Nations, (espe-
cially such as have shown kindness unto us) and
to bless them with good Government, Peace,
and Concord; to promote the Knowledge and
Practice of true Religion and Virtue, and the
Encrease of Science among them and us; and
generally to grant unto all Mankind such a De-
gree of temporal Prosperity as he alone knows
to be best.

Given under my Hand at the City of New
York, the third Day of October in the Year of
our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and

Eighty-nine.

G. Washington/'

As this was read in all the churches on the
following Sunday, even those whose sympathies

202

BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS

had not been with the war could enter into its
spirit with sincerity, the manifold blessings of
peace and an established government moving all
to rejoicing and gratitude. The clouds that had
darkened the dawning of the new nation's life
were finally dispelled, and its sun had risen in a
clearer sky.

The year 1789 proved a memorable one for
Ripton; asserting its independence of Stratford,
it became a town, naming itself with patriotic en-
thusiasm for one of the signers of the Declara-
tion of Independence and the Governor of the
State, " Huntington.'' But with all the pride
in the present, the old name dear to so many,
and that came " more trippingly on the tongue,"
lingered in common usage, and even after a
hundred years have passed it is still uttered,
bearing to those who use it an association reach-
ing back to the older days and people, the oldest
homes and graves.

Ripton was worthy of honor, sending out to
the greater world illustrious sons and daugh-
ters, to fill places of power in the great cities, to
found new communities in the ever-opening

" West," to drift as does the soil from the hill-
203

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sides to the valleys, enchaining the rivers, and
enriching the world with the power of water as
the fathers had with the power of land. Some
remained on the ancestral acres, firm ground
for the growth of true manhood and loyal citi-
zenship, of sturdy principles, of valor and
strength, that would again be at the nation's
service, even those whose hearts turned formerly
to the King bidding a son God-speed to aid the
war of 1812.

After Victory's marriage Gloriana was left
alone with her parents. The large estate was
greatly diminished by setting off to the various
sons their portions, and the slaves, suffering also
by division and somewhat by death, were fewer.
But it was still a house of plenty, of comfort, of
hospitality, with a coming and going that made
the remote life full of variety. Of occupation
there was no limit. A girl had always the free-
dom of spinning all she would, and the woven
product was hers. No maiden properly brought
up would think herself prepared to marry until
she had at least ten pairs of linen sheets and had
knitted a pillow-case full of stockings. Linen

was woven a yard wide, and in such length that,
204

BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS

cut in two and sewed together, the "web" would

make a sheet. After leaving the loom it must be

bleached. The bleaching-ground was east of the

house, where the wide level reaches over to its

rocky abutment, and there, under the May sun,

the linen, fastened by tapes at the corners to

pegs driven in the ground, was first well

sprinkled w^ith weak lye and then with water

several times daily, until it seemed a veritable

snowdrift on the short grass. A new design in

weaving, called " Stratford Beauty," which

maids and matrons went wild over, originated

with Silas Burton. There was always a choice

of " weaves " — basket, diaper, and bird's-eye, for

none wished to be behind the fashion. Coins

were also a part of a girl's accumulation that

they might be converted into spoons, against the

day when she should preside at her own table.

Gloriana watched the bleaching of her linen

May after May, delighting in its fineness and

whiteness, even sometimes sending flax to the

pond in Stratford to be rotted, as the result

was whiter if that process took place in salt

water. She had a supply of blankets also, white

and blue and yellow plaids, almost a decoration
205

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in themselves. She grew very proud of her store,
overflovi^ing from one chest to another, all care-
fully hemmed and marked in fine cross-stitch
with her initials, each initial being followed by as
many small dots as would complete the letters of
the name.

The increase of periodicals was valued. A
new commercial centre called Newfield started
in Stratford at the mouth of the Pequonnock.
Thither went merchants from the interior, and
enterprise soon formed the nucleus of the
future city of Bridgeport. A new paper, called,
prophetically, it seems. The American Tele-
graphy was put forth, and its items and adver-
tisements were eagerly sought. Newfield
represented home interests much more than
New Haven, but even though The Telegraph
might reprint a letter from Calcutta, news from
the ships in the Mediterranean, and records of
various countries, personal interest was touched
by the fact that " Geese in public pound are to be
sold in 24 hours after advertising on public sign-
post. Rate of poundage for each Goose Two
cents, whereof three quarters to the impounders

and one quarter to the Key-keeper." Runa-
20$

BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS

way negroes, articles lost and found, and the
household necessaries advertised for sale, were
important. Marriages and deaths were not
grouped, but tucked anywhere in the corners.
Books were largely advertised: *' Calvinism Im-
proved or the Gospel Illustrated as a system of
Real Grace, issuing in the Salvation of All Men."
A review of the book in the following issue as-
sured the possible readers that " the style is neat,
easy and perspicuous." The name of Tom Paine
had come to be synonymous with all horrors,
and some one advertised: " In despite of Deism,
Tom Paine and the Devil the following very
valuable book is offered for sale, The Pious Chris-
tian"

The New York Weekly Museum, four small
pages published at a dollar and a half a year,
gave news of the greater seaport, and, ere a con-
signment of the land's resources was shipped, a
careful list could be made from its tempting col-
umns. Gilt Writing Paper was for sale at the
Magazine Store near the Tea-Water Pump.
John Harrisson's Book Shop at Peck Slip —
much of the shopping was at Peck Slip — offered

" The Ladies' Friend, being a Treatise on the
207

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Virtues and Qualifications which are the Bright-
est Ornaments of the Fair Sex and render them
most agreeable to the sensible part of man-
kind." The Museum gave also a glimpse of the
world beyond, unattainable, save in imagination:
"to the curious.
A BEAUTIFUL AFRICAN LION
To be seen every day, Sundays excepted, at the Ball alley
in the Fields next to the corner of Murray Street in
Broadway.

" He was caught in the woods of Goree in Africa, when
a whelp and brought from thence to New York."

" THEATRE.

King Richard III by the Old American Company.
" Doors open a Quarter after Four and the curtain
drawn up a Quarter after Six o'clock. Box 8s., Pit 6^.,
Gallery 4^."

"A Morning School, 26 Veasy S

"Young Ladies only will be admitted; his time of at-
tendance will be from 6 to 8 o'clock. Reading, Writing,
Arithmetic and Geography will be principally attended to
(or either of them). Other branches if desired,"

Or more desirable might be

"ATTENTION!!! YOUNG LADIES.

At no. 60 Catharine St., Are taught the following
branches of Education to Youth of both Sexes, vix,
Reading, Wrighting, Arithmetic, English Grammer, Latin

208

BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS

and Greek, Geography, Composition, Speaking, Naviga-
tion, Guaging, Surveying, Mensuration, Book-Keeping
and Tambouring to Young Ladies on the most reason-
able terms; also an Evening School is now open for
Young Men and Apprentices. Poor Girls are taught
Gratis on Sabbath Days."

The Museum had ways of its own. Selected
verse was grouped under the head " Court of
Apollo; " marriages under "Court of Hymen; "
while deaths were classed as " Melancholy," and
when the tidings of Robert Burns' death was
recorded, the universal regret was expressed by:

" The Muses droop
Genius unprop'd begins to stoop
Her bard is gone."

There were tailors, milliners, hair-dressers,
mantua-makers offering novelties, and also
shops that advertised dress-goods, jewellery,
household goods, etc., and among more serious
matters the verse:

"A wedding's a wedding the universe over
From Pekin to London, from Turkey to Dover,
Married folks are the same wherever they're born
From the Cape of Good Hope till you double Cape
Horn."

The year 1796 marked a new venture in peri-
odicals and one number, perhaps the only one
209

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that reached it, has come down from the old
house. It is 4 by 7 inches in size and of two
dozen pages:

"THIS DAY is published

(Price 25 cents)

No n of the

Lady & Gentleman's

Pocket Magazine

of

Literary & Polite Amusement

New York

Printed by John Tiebout No. 358 Pearl St.

1796."

The contents are classified in Biograp'hiana,
Scrapiana, Tales, Travels, Select Poetry, Mar-
riages, and Deaths, a note on the back cover
saying, " A Box is placed in the window under
Homer's head no. 358 Pearl Street for the recep-
tion of notes from correspondents &c.," and else-
where the end of this century seems anticipated
by a notice: "Those who procure twelve sub-
scribers will receive a thirteenth copy gratis.*'

The " book-closet " increased in wealth and
variety. " The Stories of Sindbad and Aladdin,"
" The History of Miss Betsey Thoughtless,"
"Theodore; or, the Gamester's Progress,"
" Charlotte Temple," " The Coquette; or, the

BOOKS AND NEWSPAPERS

History of Eliza Wharton, a Novel Founded on
Fact," and others, lightened the heavier reading
of " Exercises of the Heart, by the Late Pious
and Ingenious Mrs.Rowe," "Lockhart's History
of Scotland," " Josephus," and the serious books
of the day. The usual bent, however, was for
improving literature, and the long sentences of
involved thought then in fashion were enjoyed.
Green's Annual Register, although only 4 by 6
inches in size, was a mine of information. In
addition to the regular almanac, its weather
predictions interspersed with moral sayings,
" Life is -| spent before we know what it is to
live," historical records, saints' days, col-
lege commencement and other dates, it gave
the rulers of all countries, the public officers of
this country, with all those in every capacity in
the State, roads, tables of interest, values of for-
eign coins, and the relative values of New Eng-
land, New York, and the Carolina currencies; in
fact, answering almost every question of an in-
quiring mind.

Thus the touch was kept with things remote,
feeling was stirred with sympathy, with ambi-
tion, with mutual interests; patriotism grew in

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

hearts that had doubted as firmly as in those
that saw with clearer vision, and when, on July
4y ^79Sf there being then fifteen States admitted
to the Union, the corner-stone for the State
House in Boston was drawn into place by fifteen
white horses, amid great rejoicing, the echo
thereof might have been heard throughout New
England.

212

XXVI

YOUTH AND AGE

Dr. Jenner had not as yet blessed the world
with the discovery of the value of vaccination,
and small-pox was the great dread of the day.
In 1777 six hundred persons were ill with it at
one time in Stratford township, and " fear is a
burned child! " The positive horror felt for the
disease was so great that the treatment of the
unfortunate victims seemed almost inhuman,
save that there was no other way known to avoid
danger. A student, obliged to leave Yale College
because of illness, found his weary way to a native
hill-top, and, on arriving, the dreaded symptoms
having developed and his parents not being
alive, he was allowed no refuge but an old barn,
dying there after scant care, and, as was cus-
tomary, was buried at midnight. Pest-houses

were established, where a person exposed to the
213

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disease must retreat, and, even when he returned
home cured, he could not be allowed to enter his
own house for some days, but must sleep in an
outbuilding until the fear of contagion had
worn off. Inoculation began to be practised,
the virus being taken from a human being, not,
as by Jenner, from the cow, and giving *' the
genuine, not the kine-pox." Notices of the es-
tablishment of pest-houses were published:

" Inoculation."

"The Authority & Select Men of Fairfield
having again appointed the House now occu-
pied by Capt. Nathan Adams for Inoculation, the
subscriber proposes to receive Patients therein,
from this date to the last of April next. And as
no one died of inoculation last year, as no one
was dangerous, as no one had it the natural
way after inoculation, and as no one gave it to
any person after they left the Pest-House, he
thinks it will be a sufficient encouragement for
those who wish to have the Small Pox this sea-
son to put themselves under his care.

HOSEA HURLBERT.
Greenfield, January nth, 1797."
214

YOUTH AND AGE

In 1799 Ripton — or Huntington — issued a
declaration:

" Whereas two thirds of the Inhabitants Le-
gally assembled in Town meeting in Hunting-
ton . . . Voted that they gave Liberty for the
Inoculation of the Small-Pox ... In conse-
quence of which, we the Major Part of the Civil
Authority and Select Men upon the appli-
cation of and other inhabitants of said

Huntington Do Grant Permission for the

Small-Pox to be communicated by Inoculation
at the following houses set apart for the Purpose
and they are strictly required to pay Care-
ful attention to, and be Intirely under the Order,
Rules, and Regulations to wit: —

istly. (Setting apart certain houses.)

2ndly. (Appointing Doctors for the Houses
with Tenders and Nurses.)

3rdly. We do further order that no Person
or Persons who may receive the Small-Pox by
Inoculation and Enter said Houses, and during
his, her, or their continuance there may not go
more than fifteen rods from said Houses Sev-
erally, and the Nurses and Tenders are to ob-
215

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serve the same rule, and said Nurses and Tend-
ers are Directed to have a well-loaded musket
while at said Houses and to kill every Dog &
Cat that shall come within gunshot of said
houses."

4thly. (Directions for disinfecting.)
5thly. (Forbidding persons having heretofore
had the Small-Pox from going within certain
distance.)

6th. (Committee for disinfecting.)
7th. (Forbidding all Persons to receive In-
oculation except under above rules.)

N.B. (Certain repetitions of above and the
order to make four copies of this act one for each
Pest-House . nd one to be set on each of two
public signposts.)"

Duly signed by Civil Authority, etc.

This process produced a mild type of small-
pox, very rarely proving fatal, and Gloriana, like
many others, sought relief from the ever-present
fear by entering the pest-house, enduring the
discomfort, isolation, and confinement, for the
sake of the relief to herself and others.

The last sands of the century were running
216

YOUTH AND AGE

out when the earthly life dearest to American
hearts came to an end. The boys in all the
school-houses wore crape on their left arms for
six months, in memory of Washington, who was
" above all Greek, above all Roman fame,'* and
who had proved the nation's hope, piloting her
through the worst storms, and gaining for her
a firm anchorage. New days were to come, a
new century was near, and the training through
struggle and difficulty had fitted many for the
present duties. The young navy was bearing it-
self bravely, and there was a settling into place,
while the eye looked with steady gaze into the
future. States and statesmen gave proud alle-
giance, and the nation proved her power.

In 1801 Gloriana reached the age of thirty,
quite an advanced one for a single woman, and
still no suitor had appeared whom she would
favor. But the new century had lost but
a few of its years when she met in Derby
a widower about her own age, whose suit
was duly approved. In addition to the fact
that he pleased her fancy, and was well-es-
teemed, she weighed others. He had recently

bought a comfortable house, he was a merchant,
217

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

he lived in a town, and she could walk to church!
Having lived always four miles from the Centre,
the base for supplies, material and spiritual, there
was a strong power in the thought of being in
the midst of things and within short walking
distance of the greatest of all desires and attrac-
tions. Mere romance had had its day, and the
weightier side of a new life was considered, re-
sulting in Gloriana's being transplanted from
hill-top to valley, from comparative isolation to
the variety and activity of a town with its social
and business interests, its river and shipping,
and its contact with neighbors separated, not
by long acres or steep hill-sides, but by door-
yards.

The old house, nearing its " latitude 50°,"
felt a delightful flutter in renewing its youth,
and in again preparing for a wedding. Glori-
ana's chests were full indeed. They held no less
than thirty pairs of linen sheets, with towels and
table linen, blankets and coverlids, curtains, and
valances in profusion. Nor was the quota of
stockings lacking, nor the linen underclothing,
gowns and petticoats, scarfs and riding-cloaks,

or whatever was of use, of fashion, or of heart's
318

YOUTH AND AGE

desire. Calico was very expensive, therefore
more to be desired than satin. The wedding-
gown of India calico, a dark blue ground spread
with gold-colored flowers, was short-waisted and
long-sleeved, with the skirt puckered on the belt
in the most approved style.

For furnishings also the latest patterns must
be had. There was a long sideboard on slim
legs, with curving front and rich brasses, its
pretty cupboard stocked with tea-dishes, finely
fluted decanters and wineglasses. A gilded
eagle rested on top of the parlor mirror, which
reflected the vases and candlesticks on the man-
telpiece. There were spindle-legged tables and
fiddle-back chairs, and those of newer style
painted black, with gilt scroll-work. For her
own apartment there was an " escritoire,^' really
a chest of drawers, the front of the upper drawer
letting down on hinges to serve for a desk.
This fine piece of work in cherry was inlaid with
holly in little shields and fine lines, and the
brasses, chosen with care, were ever a lesson to
a good mother and housewife, the back-plate
of each handle showing a bee-hive and the motto

" Nothing without labor.''
219

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

Then there were small, square washstands,
pier-foot tables, swell-front bureaus, long mir-
rors with inlaid frames, or small oval ones
swinging over a shallow drawer set on the dress-
ing-table. And there were bedsteads with
arched canopy-frames, to be hung with figured
calico, chintz, or checkered linen, and window
curtains of the same, all bordered with fringe of
netting and tassels.

The neighbors, making their formal or friendly
visits, always welcomed an opportunity to ex-
amine the fine Chinese and English ware, the
large platters and open dishes of white, edged
with a fringe of green, the more common blue
and white willow pattern, mugs and odd plates
from India, and a few bits of Wedgwood. Tea-
spoons were still small and light, but table-
spoons were heavy and rich in decoration.
Tankards had gone out of fashion, and china
charmed the eye for the tea-service. Gloriana's
predecessor had left a daughter and two sons;
the daughter, Zerviah, grown to attractive young
maidenhood, had " a beau," the captain of a
merchant vessel sailing for China, and by him

Gloriana sent for her best tea-set, which, duly
220

YOUTH AND AGE

arriving, when unpacked from its nest of tow
revealed coffee- and tea-dishes, helmet pitcher,
sugar- and slop-bowls, tea-caddy and cake plates,
all decorated with a border of gold stars, each
piece bearing a finely painted eagle holding the
American shield inscribed with Gloriana's ini-
tials. Delicate in quality and fine in workman-
ship, this tea-set was the marvel of the neigh-
borhood. Others had come in a similar way, but
no other so fine had appeared, and the tea-
parties at which it figured were long remem-
bered.

Gloriana's husband was part owner in a sloop
in which he went to New York to make pur-
chases for his store. This afforded opportunity
for Gloriana to visit the great city, and also to
discover and secure rare articles of various
kinds. It was a novel experience to sail down
the beautiful river winding among the hills, then
to run out on the wide Sound, and skirt its
shores all the way to Hell Gate. The uncer-
tainty of wind made the voyage variable, it hav-
ing been made in ten hours and again requiring
ten days.

The distance of the new home from the old

211

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

one on the hills was hardly half a dozen miles,
and the active father and mother often covered
it, while Gloriana herself thought little of the
journey in the saddle. And Gloriana w^as able
to gratify the desire that her child should be born
under her father's roof. Charming as she found
town life, the frequent passers-by, the neighbor-
liness of those whose gardens adjoined hers
and the frequent informal chats over the palings,
her deep love was for the home of her
youth set against the sky. The house her
husband had purchased shortly before her mar-
riage was a pleasant one, but a step or two
from the street, fine-growing elms shadowed it,
and within the fence periwinkle spread its
green leaves close up to the house w^alls, and
around the roots of syringa and lilac bushes.
The front door led from a small porch and wide
door-stone into a square entry, or ^' space-way,"
from which parlor and dining-room opened.
The front door itself, cut in two horizontally,
mig^ht let fhe upper or knocker half swing back
(sure sign that the hostess was at home), while
the closed lower part stayed a possible intruder.
The hospitality of the day and the pleasure

222

YOUTH AND AGE

of frequent visitors, set the whole door wide open
when the weather permitted, and the large wool-
wheel being set in the space-way, Gloriana in
her afternoon gown of mull or " taffety," and
apron of fine cambric or muslin, stepped back
and forth, back and forth, on the sanded floor,
spinning soft, white yarn. Or sitting by her
chamber window overlooking the street, whence
she could give a nod or a word to those going
or coming, she embroidered little caps, sleeves
of fine linen-cambric shirts, and dainty little
white slips, or set her hand to more practical
stitches.

The life of the newly-married, when it involves
the mothering of a grown-up daughter, and of
sons making ready to go out into the world, is
not all romance, and a ready head and hand were
required for all their needs, mental and material.
Zerviah soon married, passing out in great meas-
ure from the step-mother's life; the sons also
grew vigorous and capable, taking their places
in the outer world, filling them ably, and testify-
ing in other States to the value and stability of
New England training.

Gloriana's only child first met this life as she
223

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

desired, under the free air of the high hills and
the roof of her ancestors. Clannishness was
characteristic of many of those whose descent
was from the best class of the early settlers. The
pride of rank, though rank itself was not, was
often retained, even in poverty, to an extent
unintelligible to those who cared not for its dis-
tinctions. It was not in the least an arrogance
of bearing, but a sense of birth, which made
a clear dividing-line of feeling, and, however
genial, social, or friendly, intercourse might be,
the underlying realization was never lacking of
that which generations of refined and educated
ancestry can give. A keenly discriminating
parent expressed it to his daughter in the simple
phraseology of the day, "A very nice young
man, Polly, but he ain't our sort! '*

Gloriana felt it to be giving her child a privi-
lege that she should be born under the old roof,
for, pleasant as was the home in Derby, it was not
exalted or hallowed by association with either
side of the family. On the upper hills under the
blue sky of June, when the tall grass was yet
waving in fringing billows, and the birds were
singing in welcome, the little girl was bom.

She received the name of Marietta, following
224

YOUTH AND AGE

the sentimental or romantic fashion common at
that period of embellishing the plainer name
from which it was derived. Two baptismal
names were still uncommon, being rarely used
until the century was well under way, as may be
realized by recalling the names of the nation's
history. But although at the baptism in the
Ripton Church " Marietta " was the name
uttered by sponsor and priest, it was as " Mary '*
that the child was known, the dear grand-
mother's name falling most readily from the lips.
This was a child to be worshipped in the silent
manner of the time, not with lavish endearments
and self-absorbed interest, but in a secret shrine
in the mother's heart. She knew that her child
must be fairer, brighter, better than others, still
the repression of the day, the fear of fostering
self-love or self-conceit, the responsibility of
bringing up this darling to the highest sense of
duty, of rectitude, and of every desirable prin-
ciple, forbade much outward demonstration.
" Pa " and " Ma " might see in the opening intel-
lect a glowing promise for the future, but they
would hardly lisp to each other, or acknowledge
to themselves, their firm belief in the wonder of

the star risen above their horizon.
225

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

Little Mary's visits to her grandparents were
always a delight, even the tall grandfather stoop-
ing to guide the first timid steps. From one of
the green doors in the end of the house facing
fhe street lay the path of narrow stones, and
little Mary had hardly learned to guide her own
feet when these stones seemed laid for her espe-
cial pleasure. The fond grandfather, now past
threescore and ten, led the child, as she stepped
back and forth on the little path, grasping one
of his long, slim fingers with her tiny hand.
As she grew more independent she walked care-
fully behind him, watching lest she step on the
cracks between the stones, or finding her pleas-
ure in stepping on the cracks only. There was
always some new way of walking or jumping
along the stones suggested by the active mind
to the little feet, and the blades of grass that
thrust themselves through the cracks were
pulled ofif by her imperious fingers.

The tall grandfather lifted the little girl, that

she might see the baby birds in the robins' nest,

and he led her carefully about the barn-yards,

amid all the interesting life, young lambs timid

and woolly, tender-eyed calves and fuzzy, golden

226

YOUTH AND AGE

chickens. Nor, if he held her, was she afraid of
the big gobbler, or of the line of great white
geese. By the outer butt'ry door grew a large
raspberry bush, and it was the fond hand of age
that picked the ripe, black berries, fitting them
as thimbles on each of the little white fingers.
There was great comradeship between the old
man and the little four-year-old bearing his
wife's name, a comradeship sweet and refreshing
to him, though to the child a matter of course.

In the early twilight, when Grandmother
Mary, sitting in 'her " ottoman chair," shaped
with practised hand the little foot of a soft white
stocking. Grandfather Daniel, holding the little
girl on his knee closely to him, would bend his
silvered head to her fair one, with a whisper to
the child to ask from her grandmother " a spin-
ning song." The pedlers who toiled over the
rough roads with their packs carried, among
other novelties, ballads printed on single sheets
of paper, giving the words only, and the pedler
as a part of his trade must be able to sing
the tunes, and must also be willing to stay long
enough to teach them to the purchaser. The

latter having learned the air perfectly, pinned the
227

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

page of words to her distaff, and, as she spun her
daily stint, committed them to memory. Of all
the store which Mary knew there were two
favorites, and, the Httle girl being given the first
choice, asked always for '' The Miser " — the
" catchy " air pleasing a taste yet too young to
understand the lessons of life — the song begin-
ning:

"A rich old miser courted me,
His age was threescore years and three,
And I a girl of seventeen,
I wish his face I ne'er had seen;" —

while the grandfather's favorite, sure to follow^
was

The Normandy Maid.

1

J (n*'<4. ^•«**-i> «.. ?i<n- yytf^^ tmU, M.^*.

,A«>u. u;cM 0^

yh^JUuf^-UrgtU^

,OU»*Xfc ^h^-AlCJ.^ SoijL fCt^-iu, ^^ H*.-,^ C*HAi<, /lyflfc

^2^K**a^^ ^3 j2j«/iC**«A jU^, CujJ 0A*i-U^(nU .e^iM^.ftnnr

6i^. ^irtt JLfvni^ Irtn*^ h^ ^tuttUt *». 'rXii Cc*u/ J

h J —I -*->» 1 — 1 : r-i-

YOUTH AND AGE

" I once knew a Normandy maid,

Whose sire was a crusty eld elf.
And he was greatly afraid

That the maiden would choose for herself;
So he kept her quite under control,

By the means of a good lock and key.
And I saw her one evening, poor soul.

Look down from her lattice on me,
And I saw her one evening, poor soul,

Look down from her lattice on me.

II

"With iron her lattice was barred.

To none could she utter a word.
And I thought it wondrously hard

That a maid should be caged like a bird,
So at night, when sleep conquered her sire,

I arose with steps light and free,
And said, * Should the house be on fire,

Sweet maiden, come down unto me.'

Ill

"Some branches I burned, and the smoke
By the wind to the lattice conveyed;
Cried ' Fire!' till the father awoke

And let out the poor trembling maid.

He was very near dead with the fright,

Yet no spark nor flame could he see,

But the maiden ran down with delight

To the spark that had just set her free."

229

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

The little head marked the time and the dear

old husband saw only the young wife, as the

voice, yet sweet, though so far beyond its prime,

sang with a spirit more in accord with her step,

still quick and elastic, than with the record of

years in the family Bible.

230

XXVII
THE HOUR OF SORROW

A SAD hour came. October had lost nearly
half its days when word was sent to Derby that
fear and anxiety dwelt in the old house, and
Gloriana hastened to take her place by her
father's bedside and to close the dear eyes as
the presence of the Angel of Death was felt.
Tidings of the event were sent far and near to
all kindred and friends, a verbal message gen-
erally, but to the parson at Ripton a formal
notice from the eldest son that " the honored
father had passed away in the article of death."

All the necessary preparations were the work
of friendly hands. The best of everything in
the house was for the dead. The shroud, a gar-
ment exactly the same for men and women, and,
unlike anything worn in life, was of fine white
linen, perfectly plain, and cut so long that it was
tied together with a cord below the feet.
231 _

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

Coffins were made only as required, and were
of various woods, according to the means of
those ordering them, cherry being the most ex-
pensive. The long boards were kept already
steamed and bent to the desired shape, the rule
being to make the head of the coffin one^third
narrower than across the breast, and the foot
one-third narrower than the head. The wood
was stained dark and was highly polished. The
coffin was lined with fine Hnen, its quality de-
pending on the wealth of the family; a pillow
was arranged by a bunch of shavings under the
lining, and a curtain of the Hnen, pinked on its
lower edge, and just long enoug^h to cover the
face of the dead, was nailed to the head of the
coffin. The lid was hinged so that the head-
piece could be laid back, and on the other part of
the lid, over the breast, the form of a heart en-
closed the initials and figures denoting the age
of the dead, all outlined in brass-headed nails.

The coffin-maker lived at a distance and an

ox-cart must transport his work. An outside

box was never used, and the handles of small

rope were fastened at the ends of the coffin.

To prepare the house for the service it was
232

THE HOUR OF SORROW

deemed fitting to cover everything possible with
white linen. The mirrors and pictures were care-
fully shrouded, and the coffin itself usually
placed on a long narrow table, that was covered
to the floor with a large sheet carefully pinned
at the corners.

A funeral was counted a much more im-
portant function than a wedding. It was a mat-
ter of sentiment, lacking the mechanical effect
of modern days. Affection, respect, neig*hbor-
liness and kinship brought all to the house
who could reach it, and no one was too busy
to take time to bury the dead. The services were
almost invariably held in the houses. The Par-
son was presented with a scarf of white linen
three yards long, which, laid in folds, was worn
over the right shoulder, and often fastened there
and also where the ends crossed under the left
arm, with rosettes of black crape. This was of
as fine linen as the family could afford, and was
of the right length to be converted into a shirt
which the Parson was expected to wear as a
memorial. Mourning for the family, especially
for the women, was of great importance, and

conventionalities could not be transgressed.
233

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

Little Mary -had been left at home till the day
of the funeral, and when she reached the old
house, the nervous but restrained child found
it strangely hushed. One and another en-
tering by this door and that, silently seated
themselves in the chairs set against the
wall. The father took her little hand in
his, and, leading her into the parlor, Hfted the
child that she might see the face from which
he had thrown back the linen curtain. To her
it meant little. She had been told that her
grandfather was dead, but the strange face she
saw made no impression. She had never seen
her grandfather look like that, and it was only
in a bewildered way that she 'had any knowledge
of what it meant. So when she was seated by
a window and saw men and women dismount
from the horses continually coming from up
and down the road, and old Jube and other
helpful 'hands ready to aid, she found the out-
side world very interesting. Then all the people
came in, and the hush was even greater while the
good Parson, in his black gown, white bands,
and the white scarf, read the solemn service. The

sad farewells followed^ and she saw some one

234

THE HOUR OF SORROW

carefully lay the little white curtain in its place,
and turn back the hinged lid, making it secure.
A stir outside claimed her gaze, and she saw the
men stepping back with bared heads, while four
of them carried the cofBn out of the front door.
The gate that opened to the road on a line with
this door was narrower than that leading from
the Httle stone path, and, as she looked, the
bearers turned the corner of the house, and
walked, not on the narrow sftones, but at each
side of them. Then, with a rush of feeling,
she realized who was being carried out, that
the dear grandfather was dead, and to be
dead meant to go away and never come
back, and that he would never again lead
her over the little stones. But dear old
'Mandy came and took the sobbing child away,
While outside the procession of " two and two "
formed. There were no hearses, and it was not
yet common to carry the dead in a farm-wagon.
The cofBn was placed on a bier and covered with
a black pall. The people were mounted on sad-
dles and pillions in order of kinship, long stream-
ers of black crape falling from the hats of the

men, while the Parson, with his white scarf,
235

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

went in advance on his own horse, and faithful
Jube also mounted, led the other slaves who
walked in the rear.

It was no longer necessary to go to the
churchyard in Ripton, White Hills having its
own burying-place two miles distanl:. Eight
bearers had been chosen, as relief would be
needed for so long a distance, and before the
start was made a bottle of orange-peel bitters
was passed to the Parson, who, being refreshed
thereby, passed it to the bearers. Then four
of them lifted the bier till it rested on their
shoulders, and, with a quiet marching step,
the journey began. When the bearers dhanged,
which meant also a passing from hand to hand
of the strengthening bitters, the relief stepped
in before the others, and, without breaking step,
took the burden, while the weary men filed
out. For so long a march the change was made
several times ere the open grave was readhed.

The road lay throug^h the wood and past

familiar fields, uphill and down. A sharp frost

had loosened the hold of the bright autumn

leaves, and the maples and beeches mourning

the loss of their old friend, cast a glowing carpet

236

THE HOUR OF SORROW

under the feet of those carrying him to his rest-
ing-place, while now and again the leaves, float-
ing tenderly down from the tree-tops to rest on
the pall, bore their message that for them also
had come the hour of " earth to earth."

The grassy graveyard lying under the soft
October sky seemed to welcome this child of
earth, and, the bier being lowered, and the pall
removed, dust was committed to dust, the sun-
light glinting in the brass-nailed heart and let-
ters as tliey disappeared below the line of the
turf. Before the Benediction the grave was
filled, it being deemed indecorous not to wait
until that work was done, and then ere the Par-
son lifted his hand in blessing, he said: " I am
requested on behalf of the afflicted family to ex-
tend to all relatives and friends their sin-
cere thanks for your kind attentions during the
period of illness, your assistance at these last sad
offices for the dead, and your sympathy in this

time of their deep bereavement."
237

XXVIII

THE THIRD GENERATION

Other changes followed. It finally seemed
best for the sake of the lonely widow that Glori-
ana should take her place again in the old home,
and the family removed from Derby to the Hills.
Little Mary, then seven years old, almost forgot
that she had ever had another home. She loved
the place, the free breezes that felt to her as if
they came more directly from the upper blue
than those of the valley, and she loved the long
outlines of hills, and that reach of vision that
seems to see far beyond its reality. The country
Hfe was full of joy; the road to the little school-
house was rich in treasures, blue violets, nodding
columbines, may-apples, wild strawberries, and
dropping nuts waiting but for her eager hand.
And there was a treat every summer when Queen

Esther's lilies were in bloom. The bed had
238

THE THIRD GENERATION

grown larger and larger, crowding out much
else, and the tall stalks were always '' setting
sums " for her, counting, adding, and multiply-
ing their quota of blossoms. It was a joy indeed
to carry home a stalk or two to put in a dark-blue
" Rebecca at the Well " pitcher, in a sunny win-
dow, where she might watch the buds unfold,
while she asked, and heard again and again, how
the great-grandmother Esther loved them and
their sunset tinging. Common as the lily had
become there was none from other gardens that
bore for her the same charm

Little Mary loved nature, sky and tree and
flower; both the near and the distant horizons
had always a message for her. She felt herself
a part of it, not as an imaginative child would,
but in a practical way; the flowers bloomed for
her pleasure, not to hide a fairy, and the sun-
beams and breezes brought her a present joy
rather than a wondering of Whence? and
Whither? The other side of the hills did not
trouble her if only the hither side were pleas-
urable.

She was a very nervous child, reserved, cap-
able for her age, with keen perceptions and
239

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

independent t'hought, but before and above all
else unquestioning in her obedience and respect.
The grandfather's place could not be filled;
young as she was, certain places were sacred to
him, but her natural reserve prevented expres-
sion, save when climbing into his great chair,
she leaned lovingly back in it as if still feeling
his presence.

Grandmother Mary took the child more than
ever to her heart and companionship, and it
was on a pillion behind the active old lady that
the little maid went to church at Ripton, or as
an especial privilege to visit the old friend
Hepzibah. Cousin Charity had gone from earth,
and Mary's world seemed to be growing old very
rapidly. Hepzibah herself was nearly fourscore,
and to practice the art she loved was now
beyond her power. She still saw beauty
everywhere; in every cloud that floated above,
in every branch that waved below, in the
blue flags and bright cardinal flowers by
the clear watercourses, in the yarrow that lifts
its little white parasol through all the summer,
and the deep purple aster telling that sum-
mer is gone; in the bare branches of the winder.

240

THE THIRD GENERATION

lifting pleading hands, or sweeping downward
with the winds as if bearing the benediction they
had sought from the upper air; all came into her
heart to find the same love and sympathy, but
with sight dimmed and the touch of youth van-
ished, she could no longer give them expres-
sion.

Nearly three years after Daniel's death, and
when Queen Esther's lilies were in blossom,
there came again to the old house the mysterious
message so full of sorrow and blessing. The
elastic energetic nature enjoying the rush
of life often fails to realize how shallow the
water has become, or to feel the keel grating on
the sand until the bow swings to the shore
and all is being made fast. So this life for
Grandmother Mary came to its close, and she
who in her eightieth year did not hesitate to
sit in the saddle for a ten miles' ride saw
not how far into harbor she had floated, until
the sails were lowered, and the voyage finished.
There was then but faith to utter, and farewell
to say, with the blessing of a mother's undying
love, and the house was filled with that myster-
ious presence before which all earthly matters
241

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

fade, and that bears the visible onward to the
invisible, from the joy that was, through the pain
of sorrow, to the rapture that shall be.

Again the clan gathered, again little Mary,
now with fuller realization, saw the bearers care-
fully carry their burden above the path of narrow
stones. Children and grandchildren, kindred
and friends, little Mary in her youth, and Hep-
zibah in her age, the old slaves loudly lamenting,
and the young colored people, though free still
giving their allegiance, made a long procession
following after bearers and Parson under the
green trees, and along the familiar winding
highway, to the grassy graveyard already made
sacred to so many of the throng.

When the white headstone was in place it
bore testimony in its simple inscription to the
appreciation of her children for the love and de-
votion of which they had never known lack:

" She was a kind and affectionate mother.**

Thus Gloriana and her own small family were
finally left alone in ihe great house with the re-
maining colored members, who were a small

number also. During the preceding winter
242

THE THIRD GENERATION

both Jube and 'Mandy had closed their eyes
to earth, and had been carried out over the
narrow stones to the same enclosure where
lay the bodies of the master and mistress they
had served so long and so faithfully. Samson
and Moll were " old folks " now. 'Roosh
(Jerusha), Gloriana's own handmaiden, and
Pete, her husband, remained of the able-bodied.
Bose, though not yet an old man, was more care
than aid, for though obedient and devoted in
spirit his mind was ever under a cloud.

243

XXIX

GIRLHOOD AND ROMANCE

The long years of life are those of childhood,
and the developing intellect might well count
them so were it able to measure the store of
wealth attained. Even the Hmited district
school of the upper hill country unfolded vast
riches to little Mary's search, but after a few
years greater advantages were sought, and the
famous school of Miss Pierce in Litchfield was
the goal. At thirteen years old Mary could no
longer be called " little." She had grown so tall
that her record of years was rarely credited by
the stranger, especially as her mind also be-
tokened a longer period of growth. So she took
a good place in the institution, when, having
taken her there, her father left her to her first
independent venture in life, with the admonition,

" Never forget your accountability."
244

GIRLHOOD AND ROMANCE

Shy, self-contained, and quiet, none realized
the nature that the discipline of life was to de-
velop later. But she made satisfactory progress
in her studies, and the tone of mind of the day
may be understood from a letter written to her
father. Returning from school by stage-coach,
she recorded her arrival at a friend's house in
New Haven, where she was to await him. She
wrote that there had been ten passengers in the
coach, all but two of them ladies, and that the
tedium of the journey had been relieved by the
ladies taking turns in reading aloud an essay on
good behavior! Later, at school, such questions
were discussed as " Which is the most destruc-
tive. War or Ardent Spirits? " " Does Man-
kind ever act but from selfish motives? " which
might now be considered advanced subjects for
minds of fourteen or fifteen years. The school
in Litchfield was supplemented by one in New
Haven, thus leading to new friendships nearer
home.

Although legal majority was the same then
as now, the entrance into social Hfe was much
earlier. A white crepe frock served for a ball-
dress in her fifteenth year, and there was eager-
245

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

ness for the adornments that festivities demand.
Gloriana was a woman of intelligence, strong
character, and of more worldly wisdom than
one would suppose could result from the com-
parative quiet and isolation of her life. She
was a good judge of human nature, and, al-
though all sorts and conditions of life had not
passed before her, she had keen insight and
ready understanding of the differences in hu-
manity. She was a wise counsellor, broad of
vision, and had learned to measure life's phases
not with a yardstick, but with a plummet. That
her daughter should have full measure of the
pleasures of Hfe was her desire, and through
friends and kindred the way was opened for a
wider experience than came to most of those
living along the same lines. Mary had no pre-
tension to beauty or even prettiness; there was
but the attraction of youth, with a well-trained
mind and a quick intelligence, behind a very
quiet demeanor. She was not seventeen, how-
ever, when the climax of her life was reached.
At a ball in Ripton a young Southerner, then
a student at Yale College, appeared, and divined

at once the hidden wealth of her nature. The
246

GIRLHOOD AND ROMANCE

charm of his chivalric attention and entire de-
votion made a deep impression, and she willingly
consented to accept his escort for a ride the
following day. He was an adept in the art of
flirting, while she, so reticent, was but a novice.
His hasty oflfer of marriage she could hardly un-
derstand; she had not the courage to dismiss
him entirely, but was unwilling to marry, as he
desired, within a few months, when his college
life should be finished. The more reserved
Northern nature found the Southern ardor difH-
cult to comprehend. She was coy and reticent,
unkind when he was kind, but hurt when he was
indifferent. She feared a " hot love, soon cold,"
and this lack of confidence finally caused separa-
tion, despite the heartache it brought to both.
He returned to the South, and after three years
she heard of his death; unhappiness had marked
his life, and he died alone, a wanderer away from
friend and kindred.

With uncontrollable force the agony of her
love overwhelmed her. What she had concealed
almost from herself was now manifest. Life was
but a dull, blank heartache, and the only grain

of comfort was in gazing from the southern
247

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

window, until, with a rush of feeling, she bent
her head to the window-sill to hide the flood of
tears. That this must not continue Gloriana
realized. There was, therefore, a hurry of
stitches and fitting of garments, and against her
will the girl must take her place and part in the
coming commencement festivities at Yale.
Forced thus to live outside of her grief, she sum-
moned to her aid her own resources. The keen
wit inherited from her father, and a lively fancy
and laughing gayety heretofore shown but un-
der cover of reserve, were now brought to the
front, and she seemed transformed. Almost at
once she became a social power, attracting both
by her humor and sense of humor, as few can by
personal beauty, and, burying under this light-
ness the pain lying so deep, that for years she
never mentioned the beloved name.

She was always a welcome guest, and at this
time she wrote of herself: " I am just the same
tall, ill-looking girl as ever, gadding abroad the
whole time in search of amusements."

Indulgent parents granted her all possible
opportunities for diversion, and watched the re-
covery of balance with relief and satisfaction.
248

GIRLHOOD AND ROMANCE

Other swains hovered near; there was never
lack of gallant youth, some seeking only the
pleasure of the hour, but the lovers of fun, of wit,
and even of satire found in the " ill-looking
girl " a kindliness of nature, and a sympathy
with suffering that forbade the wit that cut too
sharply, or the sarcasm that was malicious.
Some sought her for companion and friend,
while others, seeing still deeper, sought, though
vainly, for the gift of her life and love.

Music had become a strong interest and love;
correspondence was ever a pleasure, the desire
for self-improvement and to gain " the power
of expressing myself on paper, to talk and write
with sense and judgment," never slumbered.
She was " willing to study, to read the best
books, and accustom myself to reflect on the
subject, to use perseverance, patience, and prac-
tice." Her correspondence reached as far as the
West Indies; letters of confidence between girls
are always delightful; they were exchanged fre-
quently by private hand, and, as one of them
said, " by mail when anything occurs that is
worth ten cents." When absent from home,

communication was as frequent as possible, and
249

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

a letter from her mother is called " corn, wine,
and oil to my spirits."

Journeys were made, long for those days, and
the city of New York with its bustle, always at-
tracted her. She had known it more or less,
since when, a little child, she had gone down on
the sloop, and on waking one morning in the
harbor, among the shipping, said, " Oh, mother,
what a lot of dead trees! " And as she enjoyed
its pleasures in her grown-up life, she said,
" Large cities throw away lots of small things
that would furnish a country town with interest
and amusement forever."

With all the love of change she wrote a

friend, " I think I shall find some satisfaction in

conversing with a purring cat, a good fire, a

piano-forte, or, in fact, reasonable creatures. I

have good health, a snug house, parents that de-

lig'ht to comfort me, while I undertake to make

all things pass pleasantly for them."
250

XXX

THE AGED FRIEND

To Hepzibah, the grandmother's old friend,

a long life was granted. When she had reached

the age of ninety-five her normal eyesight had

returned, and she read without spectacles, and

when her eyes were tired she " read in the dark,"

repeating what she knew. At this advanced age

she declared, that if Watts' Hymns were out

of print she could supply a new edition from

memory, and that she could repeat hymns from

Sunday morning till Saturday night. Her

memory had always been remarkable, and she

had not failed to cultivate it. A sermon

could be repeated almost verbatim; the Bible was

so well known that without hesitation she could

give chapter and verse at request. " Paradise

Lost," and other books she knew also " by

heart," and her memory of events antedating and
251

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

connected with the Revolution, brought to her
visits from the antiquarians of the day. On the
surrender of Burgoyne she had written a spirited
poem, and repeated it on request in 1823, saying
she had never written it out but once, and that
over forty years previously.

This second sight did not, however, continue
to the end. She became blind, and the long, long
years had left many deep lines on her face. A
great-grandson was brought to see her, and she
made him sit on the stool at her feet that she
might pass her thin, trembling hands over the
young face, to see if he bore the beauty of her
husband's family. And although she told a lit-
tle great-granddaughter the wonderful tale that
when she herself was but three years old and sit-
ting on her grandfather's knee, she caught a
humming-bird in her little hand as it was flying
near, the child, unheeding the story, wept as she
saw the wrinkled visage, and asked if, " When
she got to heaven, God would make her face
smooth again."

Gloriana, always remembering the long

friendship between Hepzibah and her mother,

sought to take in some measure the latter's
252

THE AGED FRIEND

place. When Hepzibah had passed her ninety-
seventh birthday, the end of this Hfe for her
was visibly near. Confined to her bed for a short
time from weakness, and needing little care be-
yond a watchful love, the Bible, hymns, and Her-
vey's " Meditations Among the Tombs," — the
whole of which she could repeat — filled her
mind. Gloriana went to pass the night at her
bedside, to " watch " with her, as she could not
be left alone, and this friendly help was needed.
She sat, book in hand, near the light, an occa-
sional glance at the quiet sleeper being all that
was necessary. Hepzibah waked once or twice,
spoke a word, and slept again, and Gloriana kept
her vigil, reading, but with watchful eye and ear.
She had lifted her glance and seen the quiet
breathing as undisturbed as usual; soon after
she looked again, and the spirit had fled. Ninety-
seven years of this life ended as a leaf drops from
a tree! One quiet instant of severance, and the
spirit was rendered up to the Giver; then the
body, marked by the touch of time, but beautiful
in the holy serenity of death, was laid in its rest-
ing-place.

253

XXXI

THE CHANGING YEARS

Material life was verging to the great transi-
tion that has marked this century, and many
things already common in the larger centres were
slowly reaching up to the hills. Carriages were
unknown there until about 1820. An ox-cart
or farm-wagon marked the limit of vehicles,
and when the first gig with its over-reaching
black hood was driven through that country the
horses and mules started in fright. But gigs and
chaises soon became common, and coaches fol-
lowed, though in a small community only one
or two might be owned, which were always bor-
rowed for the use of the chief mourners at all
funerals of people in the owners' grade of life.

To the progressive mind a gig or chaise with
only two wheels seemed a safe and natural evolu-
tion from the ox-cart, but a woman who was ex-
pert in the art of balancing herself on a pillion,
254

THE CHANGING YEARS

no matter how rough the road or fractious the
horse, often hesitated about surrendering her-
self to so complicated a possibility for mishap
as a four-wheeled structure. Courage grew
with use, however, and the roads improved
under the necessity that wheels created, and in
due time the " iron horse " came within conven-
ient reach of the hill-people.

The tinder-box disappeared, as it was sup-
planted by matches about 1830. As little by
little the " hand-made " fabrics gave way to the
" machine-made " the spinning-wheel had rest.
The old slaves, one by one, had passed
from the scene of their labors, and the
younger generation, born in freedom and set-
tling in homes of their own, gave less and less
domestic service. With these new conditions
the hard time for the housewife began. There
were fewer hands and feet to render service, life
was becoming more exacting, more complex, the
rigors of climate were unchanged, while with
easier transit and more frequent communication
the demands upon friendship, society, and hos-
pitality increased. The traditions of an " open

house " could only be lived up to with difficulty.

255

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

The foreign element had not yet lifted much of
the burden that the negro had left on the white
hands unaccustomed to so much of the work.
The conditions of life, changing so slowly that
there had seemed to be no change, were verg-
ing toward an upheaval. The old house^ how-
ever, true to its traditions, altered but little.
Novelty has slight charm for those who cherish
every tender association, and though the daugh-
ter in her flittings might gather to herself such
modern affairs as pleased her, the old people —
for they were growing old — settled quietly in
the accustomed place with that content that
cares not for variety, and clings lovingly to old
surroundings.

As the father neared his eightieth year he told
Mary one day that he was going to Derby, but
did not ask her to accompany him. On his re-
turn he said to her, privately:

" Mary, where do you think I went to-day? "

" I don't know. Pa."

" I went to the old graveyard in Derby. You

know your mother thinks there are no people in

the world like her family, and she will want to

be buried with them, but I like the old grave-
256

THE CHANGING YEARS

yard where my father and mother are buried,
and there's a fine old oak-'tree on the knoll that
IVe always thought I'd like to lie under. I
went there to-day, and I'm disapi>ointed to find
that another man has got in before me! But
there is just room for me by my mother's
side, and though you needn't say anything to
your mother about it now, that's where I want
to be buried."

And Mary said, " Yes, Pa."

Not long after serious illness developed, and
the devoted care of wife and daughter was sad-
dened by the advancing shadow. The man him-
self took a clear look at the situation, and the
doctor being expected, called Mary to his bed-
side and bade her ask him to declare exactly the
patient's condition. Mary did so, and, after his
departure, with a torn heart returned to her
father, who, at the first private opportunity, said,
" Mary, did you ask the doctor what I told you
to?"

" Yes, Pa."

" What did he say? "

" Do you want me to tell you just what he

said? "

257

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

"Yes, Mary."

" Well, he said he thought you would not live
more than three or four days."

" That's exactly what I thoug^ht myself!

The great change came, and the funeral pro-
cession wound down the steep hills and over
the rivers to the grave chosen. Then fhe les-
sened household took up the duty of life, old yet
new, with its shifted burden. Mary had reached
middle life, the able mother was nearing four-
score. A violent illness seized her, from which
she recovered physically, but the mental vigor
was impaired, and " Miss Mary," as she was
known to m'ost, found herself in reality fhe head
of the house, though she never suffered friend
or servant to regard that title as gone from the
venerable mother. The weakening intellect, the
wavering memory that lasted but an instant, and
then required a repetition of the information al-
ready given, were met with a patience and
serenity, and with a spirit of reverent affection,
that may well encircle as with a halo, the devoted
daughter who rendered what was so difficult,
with such unfaltering tenderness.

Miss Mary began keeping a journal, in a de-
258

THE CHANGING YEARS

sultory way at first, but as years passed it became
a prominent factor in her life. As the mother's
mental power grew weaker and weaker, the care
required was more and more exacting. The old
retainers were all gone. New servants lacking
interest, lacked patience, and t'he time came
when it was easier to assume all the labor of the
house than to reconcile and harmonize the un-
trained mind with the feeble one. Guests for the
hour or day were still welcome, and the habit
of life gave always a gracious greeting from
her who no longer distinguished friend from
stranger. There arose, however, memories, or
at least suggestions, of the past, when she, as a
child, went about the old home, and the younger
brother was sought with hurrying tread, and
a call of " Victory! Victory! "

Ninety-one years of life were finished ere the
soul of Gloriana was freed from the worn body,
and at last Miss Mary was alone. Though lonely
at heart, the familiar rooms hallowed by the
loves and lives of two generations were never
lonely to her, and after a long journeying that
the prolonged care and devotion made desirable,
she returned to her home with gladness and
satisfaction.

359

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

The division of her grandfafher's broad lands
had left but little inheritance from him beyond
the house and its immediate surroundings. The
care of many acres was not hers, and with such
assistance as was readily procured for weightier
labors s'he preferred to keep *her solitude un-
broken. Neighbors were nearer than formerly;
she had learned to find the way out of any
labyrinth, and also the art of readjustment,
with a philosophy like her father's. Thus she
wrote in her journal: "The world is full of
changes, and we have only to brush them away
as fast as others come." This was in relation
to the external. Of what is deeper she wrote:
of her father — " He has been on my mind more
of late than usual, and I have talked of him a
great deal to friends. In his old age he almost
idolized me, and I was devoted to him and
administered not only to his wants but to his
pleasure. He was very indulgent to me, and
we always harmonized." Of her mother, " It
is four years to-day since my dear mother died.
I cannot realize it. I feel her presence at times
so closely that I almost expect to see her." " It

is five years to-day since my mother died. I
260

THE CHANGING YEARS

think of her more or less every day, and always
miss her. No end of her handiwork is every-
where aboul: the house that meets my sight con-
tinually, and what could I do without these
treasures! " " I often dream of my mother; she
always comes to my senses in a pleasant form,
sleeping or waking, she seems ever on my mind.
How much I miss her, for the love and kindness
she ever bore me. Even in her old age she was
my counsellor and my friend as no other can
ever be. My house has lost its charm and has
become desolate." " I have longed for my
mother's presence ever since she departed. She
was my true and patient and sympathizing
friend uninterruptedly, all the life we lived and
loved together." A long-waiting letter from a
friend brings out — " this poor dear empty world
is to be journeyed through by so many winding
and rough roads that when I do not feel ham-
mered out Hat by the mallet of afHiction or chis-
eled to pieces by care, I shall never allow a letter

from you to remain unanswered so long again."
261

XXXII
AT HOME AND ABROAD

The living alone in the old house became
more and more satisfactory to Miss Mary. Vari-
ous ventures were made for companionship with
the younger generation, resulting always in
thankfulness when the continued presence of
some one not entirely after her own mind came
to an end, and she wrote, " I take a world of
comfort all alone in my own house; nobody
makes me afraid, even if they molest me in a gos-
siping way."

In fact, the disagreeable side of life came to be
the interference of others with her own free
choice. " It is a marvel how many of my ac-
quaintance feel competent to give me advice un-
sought about my domestic affairs. I don*t re-
member when I was not subject to this indirect

fault-finding with my ways, and I have such a
262

AT HOME AND ABROAD

decided weakness for liking my ways better than
the ways of those who are so liberal with their
opinions." " Staying in my own house in soli-
tary state is very pleasant to me, but worries my
neighbors."

The love of travel became a ruling power, and,
her wheel of fortune not turning upward, choice
must be made between that cause for expendi-
ture and costly raiment, resulting in favor of the
former. The elegancies of Hfe appealed strongly
to Miss Mary. She was a welcome guest in
many a great 'house, and no touch of splendor in
its appointment, or in the manner of life therein,
failed of her thorough appreciation. All polite
attentions also were most acceptable to her,
and on the brink of a journey she felt she " had
put through an eddy of still life, and now comes
the crowded hour and a long day of reaction."
" The hum and stir of life in its politest form "
was most attractive, and she liked to feel the
hurry of life that made her " wish the days
forty-eight hours long, as life is short to accom-
plish what is thrown in one's way." " The spell
of intellect and culture is always irresistible to

me," and " there are a great many ' field-days '
263

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

in society." The summer resorts of wealth and
fashion were an attraction ever beckoning her,
and for many years a season rarely passed that
did not find her at one or more of the large ho-
tels frequented by people of culture and social
standing, among whom she always found an im-
portant place. Many called her eccentric, and
she bore out perfectly John Stuart Mill's " We
find eccentricity of character in proportion to
that amount of genius, mental vigor, and moral
courage possessed by the individual." Of her-
self in this respect she wrote in her journal, " My
individuality is so marked that, even if I am ever
so interesting, I am apt to be unfavorably criti-
cized by exceedingly proper persons, and a sta-
ple of ridicule to those who busy themselves
watching the eccentricities of others. Yet I
never fail to receive the polite attention of the
most distinguished, at resorts of any kind, when
I choose. It is pleasant to be praised, and no
one is insensible to it; honest and deserved
praise, I mean. I loved the appreciation of my
parents in every stage of my life, and it had a
good influence on me."

Wit, originality, and a delight in uttering what
264

AT HOME AND ABROAD

was unexpected from the " spinster getting on
in years, and with a forbidding cast of counte-
nance," and in costumes that were often peculiar,
were sure to make her a centre about which re-
volved people of all ages. She loved to say the
word that was gratifying to hear, as well as that
that amused. " If I can catch the ear I know
my strength. I care nothing for the eye of a per-
son. I have small attractions for the eye." And
this attention and admiration were her best tonic.
" Change of company and change of place pro-
mote a vigorous circulation of spirits. — At home
I encourage contentment by creating for myself
simple tastes and honest occupation. No one
loves travelling more than I do, and to mingle
with the world; it lights up my feelings and
tastes like a gleam of sunshine." *' My house is
very pleasant to me, and it is the soundest judg-
ment to remain in it; my love of travel overcomes
everything, and I am very uneasy to start off."

The choice between travel and dress was early
made, still the latter had some requirements.
" I am taking a survey of my old-fashioned
wardrobe, and intend to try the effect of mod-
ernizing it by way of economy, and see if I can-
265

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

not throw over my equipment a savor and
sprinkling of gentility. Fashion changes so
often now-a-days that it is a tremendous expense
of time and labor to keep up with it, conse-
quently, I make no pretence to do so — let me
dress as I will and act as I please, other people's
judgment or opinions do not affect the peace of
my life. I pursue my own way rejoicing, in-
dependent of censure, but gratified with ap-
plause, somewhat vain, but not very proud."

Enjoying the sparkle and glitter of life so
keenly, not only did she " never for a moment
hesitate to tell of my country life and simple
habits," but " home is home," and her journal
gives, " Found my dear old home, homely to
the eye in comparison to much of the elegance
I had seen away, but pleasanter to my soul than
any other spot — my big chamber, clean bed,
old-fashioned furniture, is charming to my
senses, and I said aloud to myself, * It is good to
be here.* It seems as if I had been absent weeks
and weeks, and it is only ten days. I shall find
much to do in getting things regulated, the
grass is overgrown in the yard, the garden looks

neglected, hops to pick, and the house to brush
266

AT HOME AND ABROAD

up generally, but I am glad I went! " " It is al-
ways a broken day in coming home. I never
get settled down to anything in a steady man-
ner. But few are situated as I am, opening an
unoccupied house whenever I return. The un-
comfortableness lasts but a few hours, whereas
it would probably be greater and last longer if
I had left anybody in it during my absence. I
know of no one that I can rely on to improve
my condition, notwithstanding I am so often an-
noyed by questions of * Why don't you? ' and
' I should think you would.' " The sense of
loneliness was, however, often felt: "Is it be-
cause I am excited or fatigued that my mind
goes back to other days so vividly at this time?
Perhaps it is the returning home and no one to
greet or welcome me, as when my mother was
alive, and yet, after the experience of the past
ten years, of a lonely house to open to my soli-
tary admittance, it could hardly have much in-
fluence now. At any rate, the remembrance is
fresher to-night than usual, of the cordial and
pleasant habit my mother and myself always
indulged in on the return of whichever had been

absent; to run hastily to the door or gate with
267

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

glad countenances and joyful demonstrations, to
meet each other, or our friends, as might be.
When mother was very old she never forgot the
glad welcome, however forgetful in other things.
I have missed it in all these years, and love the
custom so that I always carry it out in practice
at every opportunity, even when my affections
are not much enlisted."

Many warm and long-enduring friendships re-
sulted from the chance acquaintance of hotel
life, and correspondence, and the making and
receiving of visits, increased thereby. Miss
Mary's power not only of analyzing character,
but of lighting up the weaker points of humanity
with a touch that gave spice to her letters, is

rarely equalled. " has performed funeral

honors to liberty by getting married." " She
was an intelligent whetstone to sharpen his fac-
ulties upon." "The composed air of a hus-
band." " a tongue in his head, such an one

as was lost in the tower of Babel." " Most people
have the grace to hear themselves praised with
considerable resignation." " is full of gos-
sip, ' itching ears ' make nimble tongues."

" There is a kind of zest in snubbing, but tattling
268

AT HOME AND ABROAD

is mean." " I don't really suppose any of us are
exactly angels." " It is said men don't care for
money as much as women do: I have noticed
that men love a beautiful woman, but adore the
riches of a homely one." " Where do gentle-
men always hide in hotels, I wonder! " " Men
don't make idols of old ladies." " We harmonize
and knit ourselves together so nicely." "...
our feelings are somewhat askew." " Some
dote on old houseis, old wine, old trees, old cus-
toms, old pictures, but forget the old woman."
In her journal she described " Eyes that peered
everywhere, and ears that listened to everything.
Her thin lips were puckered up tightly; such
retention, however, only took place when she
was called to praise a friend. To administer a
dose of bitters she gave fluent utterance and a
wide vocabulary. She has a sharp nose, sharp
chin, sharp elbows, and a very sharp tongue."

Another phase of society — entertainments —
whether near or afar, claimed her interest and
presence. " I love these musters at home and
abroad, and, in my day and generation, have
vibrated through a great number." " I occa-
sionally join the gay circles, taking into consid-
369

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

eration the expediency of airing my manners,
to make sure that I am modern and extant! "
After a large wedding: " I enjoy these occasions
even better than when I was young. The
episodes of eadier dates are gradually fading
from my thoughts. I have so much to occupy
my attention now, and receive so much attention
from society and even the notabilities of the
present day, that I don't need to fall back on the
past. I have found my place, and have learned
to fill it. Most maiden ladies give up these
things and settle down, forgotten except in their
family circle and neighborhood." Invitations
" keep my feelings fresh and afford me pleasant
intercourse in society, that interferes with no
one's rights or privileges." " Trimmed my bor-
ders and cut my grass this morning, trimmed
myself in my royal robes this afternoon, and
made calls." "I like sociability. I like to be
social, even if sometimes a flash of wit, a little
wisdom, and no end of silly speeches escape me."
One who added so much to the entertainment of
others was naturally in demand, and, even when
the tale of years neared threescore and ten, there

was no lack in the desire for her presence. All

270

AT HOME AND ABROAD

" musters," however, did not give equal pleas-
ure, and some were declined. " Although I mix
but little with the multitudes just now I am by
no means asleep in my mind's eye." " Amuse-
ments of a certain kind are rife, but turn out
light and of poor quality — gossip dull — even
among speculators! " " I don't think gossiping
the highest wisdom; it animates us to sundry
skirmishes and small warfares."

Guests were always welcomed with rare
heartiness, and, even though the guests' con-
venience might be her great inconvenience, the
traditions of hospitality were never transgressed.

" The Lord sustain me with Mrs. 's children

among my peach-trees. How I dread their rav-
ages and waste." After a visit that had been full
of delight in the companionship of old friends
who left her on Saturday morning: "The

K 's have gone and I have toiled through

the day in putting my house in order. I am
dreadfully fatigued, but could not endure a rest
with every room in disorder however; chaos
over Sunday is not according to Scripture; "
and, as the wear of life made effort of any kind

more wearisome, it was recorded: **The mo-
271

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

notony of my life is really pleasant to me; " and,
" haven't ' lifted up my voice ' to sound this day,
but have had a great circulation of thoughts."
Speech, however, from herself or others gave
the charm to life, as, after quoting in her jour-
nal: "The sweetest string of the great harp of
mingled harmonies is the human voice," she
added, " The whispering winds, the melodious
birds, and gushing water are all that very re-
sponsible poets have claimed; nevertheless, my
vote goes in favor of social qualities that belong
to the human species," and, regarding speaking
from feeling, while Gloriana wrote: " I can't al-
w^ays keep it in, I shall speak when it comes
handy; " the daughter felt, " there is a fascina-
tion in speaking your mind that almost recon-
ciles one to reproof."

With all her interest in the " human species,"
nature, in all its phases, appealed to her; the
weather, "sparkling with sunshine;" "heard
the notes of a robin for the first time this sea-
son; " " the dawn of a fragrant summer morn-
ing; " even " biddies " (chickens), with whom
she "loved to cultivate an intimacy — like per-
sons, they are flattered by attention and kind-
27a

AT HOME AND ABROAD

ness." "The trees are behind time in their
budding interests, notwithstanding the cour-
ageous example of the little crocuses." " What
charming weather, and how beautiful this world
looks to human eyes, the flowers, the foliage,
the grass (jolly blades that drink the dew of
heaven!)" "I rise early and go out to salute
the green grass with a rapture little known to
city ladies," " We went down to the shore and
watched the swelling waves and saw how pa-
tiently the brave old Ocean repeats itself for
ever and ever." " There is always a cheerfulness
in snow-storms to me, notwithstanding the labor
and inconvenience they put me to usually. I s!t
quietly in my chamber most of the day and say,
* let it snow; ' " and, when the snow was not
crusty, making the effort too great, she cleared
her own paths from preference, as " the work
has charms for me." Her heart responded to
the world of matter, as it did to the world of
feeling. " The world we live in has always ap-
peared full of beautiful sights, and a complete
treasure-house of loveliness and melody; " and,

under all circumstances, she found, " Fresh air,
273

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

and owing no one a shilling, is quite invigorat-
ing! "

Life held its charm. " This is a beautiful
world, and I want to stay in it a long time."
" I have comfortable ' fixings ' as to furniture,
old-fashioned in this day and time, not costly or
grand, but very pleasant to me. I hope I may live
long to enjoy it." " I sit up late and read with
great enjoyment." The periodicals of the day and
good books of various kinds were always at hand,
suggesting often pithy sentences written in let-
ters or journal: " Alluding to fashions, the New
York Herald says: ' In some styles there is no
change.' Poor relations will be cut the same as
last year!" "I read in a scientific work not
long ago that human elements consist of four
substances, representing the familiar names of
fire, water, salt-peter, and charcoal. Of such is
man, the Lord of the whole Earth! Iron is
found in blood, phosphorus in the brain, lime in
the bones, and dust and ashes in all." The Bible
was read through yearly for many years: "the
' law ' compels, the * gospel ' charms."

The ability to cast a charm over the most

ordinary and matter-of-fact occupations was
274

AT HOME AND ABROAD

marked and continual. " Made a great display
on the clothes-line this morning. How avail-
able I can make myself! how proud I am of my
capacity for doing so ! health and resolution can
effect wonders. I have both at the present time,
for which I am thankful." " My head is full of
notions and my hands full of work; my feet run
hither and thither a considerable part of the
day * world without end ' (I wish I could say
' Amen ' and make a respectable finish of it)."
" I daily wield the hand of the diligent, and con-
siderable economy is thrown in, and I say to
myself, ' Is woman's work ever done? ' When
alone I am in the domestic harness till quite in
the afternoon, and, if I have company, I am
never out of it. Some spiteful * critter ' said
women have very few reserves, and always tell
all they know, and wonders that it takes them so
long. I daresay he was served as I lately served
a biped who ' took aim ' at me. But I am not
afraid! I can stand shot first rate — have smelt
powder too often. I shall begin to number my
slain before long, if only to prove my discretion
and show my valor."

275

XXXIII

NOT A "GRIM OLD MAID"

Through all the long life the love of her
youth remained a potent factor. Far away as
it seemed at times, it made marriage always im-
possible, a " desirable match " merely, having no
attraction. Miss Mary wrote in her journal:
" I remember a youfhful lover who died and left
me. No one else has ever filled the void. After
fifty years I remember him pleasantly. If he had
lived and I had had more experience, would he
have been my chosen before all the world? My
youthful days and middle life might possibly
have been pleasanter, but I feel sure I could not
possibly be so full of contentment as I am now
in my single state, free from anxiety and weighty
cares, arising from family duties in married life."
Slurs at " old maids " she might meet with com-
posure, but " I never rail at matrimony, and yet
276

NOT A '*GRIM OLD MAID"

fortunately never ridiculed old maids; the one
I consider a wise institution, while the other
may have just a " sprinkling " of peculiarities
that the eye of a noble-hearted woman might
wince at, rather than despise, and I have come
to the conclusion that disagreeable people will
be disagreeable, married or single." " What a
quiet and peaceful life is t<he allotment of an old
maid, if she can only be contented with it. Why
is so much antagonism and ill-nature manifested
toward them generally? Young and old often
speak of them with reproach. The love of order
in them is ridiculed, and neatness is called one
of t^eir striking peculiarities. The path I have
" trotted in " I have found very pleasant, and
am not in the least timid in encountering preju-
dices against maiden ladies." " By accident I
have escaped tfhe sorrows of widowhood, and the
lonely years and regret of a maiden lady are not
my experience as yet, tho' I am somewhat ex-
posed to them," " It is not the widows that are
exclusively sought for, even the old maids are
sometimes * wooed and all that,' for here is the
writer of these pages just passing through the

ordeal, unscathed to be sure! I have hitherto
277

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

found the path of an old maid pleasant to walk
in. I think I will continue the journey therein."
Through the many years since the great heart-
ache of her youth, there had been frequent and
advantageous opportunities for marriage. The
attraction of her individuality was great, to some
the snug old house, and small but comfortable
income added a charm! Her experience proved
to her that " it is a woman's own fault if her
last chance for marriage ever comes; there are
always men of all ages wanting wives;" and she
could write with authority on the matter!
" Cousin 's letter suggests as a hus-
band, he having made some overtures to that
effect. He condescends to think I would share
his diet, and attend to his bodily wants, and,
perhaps, jump at the chance. I don't feel called
upon to display much activity in the matter! "
Another bearer of " preliminaries " made her
friend's request, with the inducement he had
suggested, that he had a new purple merino
dress that had belonged to his first wife, and
had never been worn but once — ^that he would
give her if she would marry him ! Another aspir-
ing widower also of a plain grade of life, living
278

NOT A ^'GRIM OLD MAID"

near, made an early call, appearing- at her
kitchen-door. After entering, and uttering
a few ordinary civilities, he arose, and, with
some embarrassment, began walking around the
kitchen-table, saying she seemed to be a very
good housekeeper, and finally asked if she were
a good cook. He was dismissed with the reply,
" If you want to match your cooking-stove you
had better marry a colored woman! "

There was always a dash of amusement in mar-
riage possibiHties. " Mr. , a rich widower!

Had I better be nimble around him, or is there
a fatality in belonging to his household! Two
have died out of it suddenly within a year. What
if lie should be called away and the chance of
being a rich widow be lost on me! It is a
fearful thing to consider. If I take him I shall
shut my eyes to the consequences. My con-
science would be easier to take no advantage of
the opportunity. Lotteries in this state are
illegal. Marriages are said to be lotteries,
therefore, are marriages illegal, I wonder! "

Beginning a new volume of the journal she
wrote: "Years ago I laughed at the idea of

keeping a journal; perhaps it would be no lack
279

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

of wisdom if I adhered to that resolution unto
this day. I have very Httle to record but petty
events. I had more material in early life, tho'
I probably should have run to sentimentality. I
don't think I knew much about myself really in
those visionary days. I had my romance, and
was disappointed. I am more contented with a
dull reality, mete out self-discipline, and am dis-
enchanted of many hopes and perplexities that
overcame me when young. I view things in a
truer light, and have an increase of stability, and
more self-reliance, tho' I don't escape * schisms '
and all those things pertaining to the flesh, but
endure them with great fortitude. I am quite
alone in the world as far as dependence and lean-
ing on another go."

For sentiment in others. Miss Mary had al-
ways a keen intuition as well as a real sympa-
thy. The true " single woman " who bears ever
in her heart a grave, bound about by vines of re-
membrance, whose flowers never fade and whose
leaf withereth not, has even more sympathy
with the love-affairs of others than the happy
married woman who has realized her dreams;

sympathy, however much it may be fostered by
280

NOT A **GRIM OLD MAID"

kindness and interest, being the true child of
suifering. The confidences of younger people
were invited and acceptable, for she deemed it
" good to keep our sympathies enlarged and ex-
tended beyond ourselves, the secret is, being
accessible to others." Youth always attracted
her; " to keep the young side to the front " was
one of her rules of life, even if she wrote, " Old
age don't look so grim as it did awhile ago."
The grace of life was still to be cultivated; " An
old maid occupying her house alone is solitary
as any single woman's house is, but need not
be the less cheerful; " " I am a ' single woman,'
but I am sure I am not classified as a Grim Old
Maid; " and it was gratifying to record " Some-
body said I was witty and plain; and that age
had given my homely face a charm; " — on a
birthday she wrote, " My years accumulate, and
even the mirror don't frighten me."

A birthday never passed unnoticed in the
journal. " To-day is my birthday. I 'have spent
it alone and pleasantly, and without sin, as far as

committing sin goes; the omission a sin may

find me there! Is there anybody that does not

omit to do good? It is much not to do and think
281

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

evil, on that I have built my structure to-day.
One day! I have never in my thoughtlessness
watched myself all day before. He who ' neither
slumbers nor sleeps * knoweth, and may He
guard and protect me in the right way."

The passing years, running up such a long
record against her told but Httle on the mode
of life. The interest in all younger life remained,
and the desire to have a part in it, to keep
" modern and extant," even though the realiza-
tion of w^hat could not be far off was felt.
" Table and hearth have no occupant but myself
— no hurry, very little work and care; my house
is clean and still, nothing disturbed or out of
place, and these quiet times in my own house
suit me exactly — and Somebody's growing old!
that tells the story; and Somebody must bestir
themselves if Somebody means to travel; for old
age best enjoys home comforts, and strange
places and strange people have no charms in
comparison. I am so thankful the seclusion is
not gloomy to me." " Read a story, ' The Gen-
tleman's Picnic,' to-night, and have not had such
a spontaneous laugh in twenty years. I have

often thought that kind of laugh had all died out

282

NOT A *'GRIM OLD MAID"

of me. I am glad of any youthful emotion."
" My old home is the dearest of all places to me
— my joys and sorrows and most of my life have
been spent under its roof, and its sun, if not high,
is yet warm in the sober afternoon." " I am
over 80 years in my journey thro' life. I have
been much alone. I don't mind being alone, as
many persons do, and for many years there has
been a kind of necessity for this condition. I
am not timid, in illness I have ministrations from
nurses, doctors, and also of servants — in com-
fortable health I am good company to myself,
and don't feel the loneliness that an unsocial
companion's presence gives me."

The solitude, however, could not continue.
Soon after this writing, an incautious step on
snow-covered ice caused a fall and injury that
confined her to her bed for weeks, and from
which she rose to move only with the aid of
crutdhes. The day following the accident a
friendly visitor found her patient, cheerful, and
resigned, with that philosophy that marked her
manner of meeting the changes of life. " Here
I am flat on my back, with a weight on my leg,

and can't stir hand or foot, and I lie here think-
283

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

ing how much I have to 'be thankful for. I'm

thankful it happened at home so that I have not

got to be carried here; I'm thankful I am not a

poor woman dependent upon my daily work for

my daily bread, and that I can afford to pay for

all the care and attention I need; I'm thankful

to have found some one at once to come and

take care of me, and then I'm thankful that it is

my leg and not my neck! " When able to sit

up, the journal was again taken up. " My

broken leg has made me feel that I may as well

give up and tune my pipes to lamentations. I

don't think it unreasonable to desire the use of

my limbs. I consider the world very beautiful,

and hfe full of blessings, only some come to us

in disguise, we are told." " God moves in a

mysterious way, as is verified in my case, and

made a cripple of me that I might understand

that I am an old woman, and ought to conform

to the usages of people of my years, and retire

from the gay and festive scenes that hitherto I

have enjoyed so much." At times the great

future seemed near: "Who knows the future?

Shall we recognize and be recognized? I have

thought if I go to a better world I should like
284

NOT A ''GRIM OLD MAID"

to see Solomon; he has been purified doubtless
without losing his wisdom. And as eternity is
long, perhaps Adam, our dear, old * hen-pecked *
father, might in time claim me in his effort to
call together his extended family circle. I love
a crowd! and think I should enjoy seeing all
my relations; but I thank God for the memories
of the life that is past, for the good in the life
that now is, and for the hope of the life that is
to come.'*

A dullness of hearing marred the pleasure of
living as these years of lameness continued, but
there was ever the strong love of life, and that
readjustment to altered conditions that was
characteristic. " Life is quite a study and far
more difficult than the lessons of a school-room.
My infirmities are to remind me of the woes of
life mingled with its blessings. I miss my hear-
ing ears and seek atonement in my wonderful
seeing eyes." Nothing more forcibly expressed
one of the ruling principles of her life than the
words, " We don't exactly elect our destiny, but

we can mar it by our misconduct."
285

XXXIV

THE REMINISCENT YEARS

During the crippled years it was a severe trial
to Miss Mary to be unable to go freely about her
own house, and to be obliged to depend upon
the service of others. She had always chosen
an upper room that had been her mother's,
where in young maidenhood the mother had
sat at the western window embroidering. Miss
Mary had loved the same seat and out-
look as she wrought intricate lace-stitches or
" sprigged " the fine white mull for gown or
apron, thinking the while those thoughts too
precious to utter, or weighing lighter matters.
Her strong determination now enabled her to
descend the staircase, and, with the aid of
crutdies, to walk about her garden and door-
yards. The flowers and plants welcomed her,

and she " saluted " t!hem in her own fashion.
286

THE REMINISCENT YEARS

The young shoots forever springing up around
the old lilac-bushes were like the ever-young
feelings in her own heart, and the raspberry bush
by the butt'ry door, replacing the one from
which her baby hands had loved to pick the lit-
tle black thimbles, spoke to her of the long past
years. The lily-bed at Queen Esther's was be-
yond her reach, but with her mind's eye she
could see it as the breeze swept the curving
green leaves till it seemed a little lake in the
grass.

All the familiar stretdh of vision was so dear!
She could still see, in thought, the whole place
as it was in her youth, ere the end-kitchen and
various other buildings were removed, and when
the slaves still went in and out of the open door.
Only one trace of them remained; the back
door-stone was so worn by their shufBing tread
that the hollow thus made would hold a full pail
of water!

Over the path of narrow stones she made her
pilgrimage. Back and forth on them she passed,
as, when a little girl, s'he learned to use fhe power
now weakened and maimed. These stones were

full of messages. She had often wondered why

287

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

they were so narrow. Surely when they were laid
there was land enough, and stones enough, and
time enough! Now she had come to think of
fhem as leading to the narrow house where so
many, one by one, had been borne, and toward
which she looked with unfaltering gaze.

Five crippled years passed. The cheerful
spirit rarely flagged, nor did patience tarry, al-
though privations increased. A duller hearing,
and, finally, the loss of acute vision debarring
her from the books that had been the chief solace
and companions of her solitude, took from life its
charm. Then, and not till then, did she wish
to resign it.

Miss Mary made every provision for the im-
mediate necessities that would follow her death.
During the long life there had been several
severe illnesses, and, like her father, she had
always faced death with peculiar calmness
and as a matter of course. A few months
before death came, realizing that strength was
failing, she sent for a neighbor whom she told
that she thought her life was near its end, and
arranged that this neighbor, who had prepared

her mother for burial, should perform the same
288

THE REMINISCENT YEARS

office for her. For that service she had received
a certain sum of money; for this one she was to
be Hkewise compensated. Miss Mary directed
in what garments she should be clothed, desired
that no one should look on her face after death,
that no flowers be put about her or on her coffin,
and that she should be carried over the same nar-
row stones that marked the path of her baby
feet, and that were hallowed by the lives and
deaths of those dear ones who had been carried
out before her.

A gold piece was laid in the upper drawer of
the bureau near her bed, to be ready for the
clergyman who should officiate at her funeral,
as, to her mind, the distance from which he must
come merited recognition. Provision was also
made in her will for the perpetual care of her
grave and of the graves of the others dear to her.

She owed no one anything, and her mind
was at rest about all worldly afifairs. Debarred
the comfort of reading, and with feebleness and
suffering increasing, life was no more of
value; the release that came ere the dawn of a
Thanksgiving morning was longed for, and the
glad spirit fled to its Maker, and to the joyful re-
union with those " lost awhile."
289

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

Faithful hands had ministered to all the needs ;
loving care had surrounded her; the dearest of
kindred had comforted her seclusion and
brought cheer to dark days; all that remained
to be done was to carry out her last wishes.

The Judge of Probate said Miss Mary's will
was " long enough to go 'round a barn! " The
making of wills had been almost a hobby with
her. Inheriting a tract of land from her grand-
mother, she had waited anxiously for her
eighteenth birthday in order to make testamen-
tary disposal of it. After the death of her father,
she being then about forty years of age, another
will was naturally necessary, and on inherit-
ing her mother's estate, still another. Under
friendly guidance she had learned to draw the
important document herself, and this third will
came to be a great one, bearing codicil after
codicil, as she outlived one and another therein
remembered. Finally, after twenty-eight had
died among the kindred, friends, old servants,
and various pensioners mentioned, the time for
the last will came. It was but a year or two
before her death, and the writing of it was a

great excitement. Following the lines long laid
290

THE REMINISCENT YEARS

down, the land that had come to her through
the female line must go to that cousin of a
younger generation who would so pass it on.
Whatever came from her father must go to those
of his Hne and name, and the possessions of her
mother to her most immediate kin, or to those
bearing the well-loved maiden name. Silver,
furniture, jewellery, ornaments, books, pictures,
the fine counterpanes the mother had prized, the
lace veil embroidered by Miss Mary in her youth,
the famous tea-set, the rare old glasses, money
at interest, stocks, house, and lands, all were
designated, leaving the executor's task singu-
larly free from pitfalls.

291

XXXV

THE DEATH OF THE HOUSE

At last the old house was empty and desolate,
and, like its mistress, it gently lost its hold on Hfe.
There was no longer a hand to lift a latch, a foot
to rest on the hearthstone, or a face to look forth
from a lattice. The old walls that during the
long, long years since the tool of the builder left
them had garnered their treasures, now, Hke the
fading memories of old people, were losing their
power of bestowal. All that lay in their hidden
record, the faces they knew and loved, the voices
that made them glad; the joy of bride and bride-
groom, welcomed there in their youth; the first
cry of the newly born; the words of love, of
counsel, of direction from parents to children;
the lover's entreaty and the maiden's whisper;
the husky voice of age, that having fought a

good fight and kept the faith, surrendered the
292

THE DEATH OF THE HOUSE

soul to its Maker, all these, and more, the walls
enshrined. The children of sunnier skies and a
far-off land, stolen, sold into bondage, had here a
refuge 'mid brethren of their tribe born under
the shelter of the home. And While seven strong
sons had passed out to lift their own roof-trees
a-near, and twice a stranger had come to lead a
happy bride across the thres'hold, there had been
sadder departures, as, one by one, loved and fa-
miliar forms were carried out of the wide door,
and over the path of narrow stones, to burial.

The old heart had borne its sorrows nobly,
and who could wonder that the echoing walls
finally gave but a dull sound and that the tale they
tried to tell lacked co'herence! The outer walls,
grown gray with years, might attract those who
loved them for their signs, but at the best, the
story could be but partly told, however keen
the ear that Hstened, or the instinct that sought
to supply the lost dhords. Was it not in mercy
that, like the sweep of the wing of the death-
angel, came the blast that left to mortal senses
only a stilled heart and dissolution?

The walls of Queen Esther's little home still

stand under the shadow of the old oak-tree and
293

THE SALT-BOX HOUSE

younger maples. Every summer the white stars
of Bethlehem group themselves in constellations
across the stretch of meadow, and the live-for-
ever shines above the grass, while the great lake
of Hly-leaves ripples in the breeze, and the tall
flower-stalks, raising their flaming banners,
stand like sentinels around its border challeng-
ing an intruding foot.

And year by year the greater ruin keeps its
anniversaries. Spring after spring the warm
sunbeams brighten it, and the first blue-bird,
with picturesque instinct, rests on the silvery
moss-covered ghost of a cherry-tree. Later, the
robins nest again in the dear old places, and
orioles flash in and out of the dark hemlock
branches. June after June the rose-bushes t'hat
are fast encircling the house unveil their tender
beauties, that bow before the breeze only to bend
back their bright young faces with a caressing
touch against the old gray walls, comforting
them as the kisses of a child always comfort the
silver-haired. Summer after summer the great
raspberry-bush by the butt'ry door tells of the
long-time hospitality, reaching out to the lover

of the past its slender arms tipped with luscious
294

THE DEATH OF THE HOUSE

clusters. Harvest after harvest the ripe timothy
fills the air with its fragrance as it lies in long
swaths before the gathering.

And Nature is claiming her own. The great
beams that she fostered in their slender youth
and beauty, and endowed with power and might
in their maturity, bend more and more toward
her loving breast. She has called the young
woodbines to come and clasp the fallen stones
with their shining tendrils and cover with a new
life that old heart. The winds pause to sing their
lullabies and dirges, the snow wreathes every
ledge and Hntel and her white hand lingers ten-
derly on the wreck. The rains beat upon it, as
they do on the graves in the distant burying-
place, and like them, the old house sinks more
and more into the lap of Earth, while the moss
thickens on the low picket-fence, and the grass
crowds over the edges of the narrow stones that
lead up to the faded green door. ^ ^

APPENDIX

Page 68.

Household Goods for the Setting-out of a
Bride, 1758.

£ s. d.

I Crimson Harrateen Couch 2 12 20

3 Looking Glasses 13 9 4

6 Large Table-Spoons 5 2 o

6 Tea Spoons & pair Tea-Tongs i 18 11

12 Pewter Plates 12 9

I ' Doz. Large Ditto 16 4

I Doz. Large Hardmettle Ditto .... 160

I Gallon Bason 7 o

3 Three Pint Ditto 5 2

5 Quart Ditto 8 9

3 Porringers 4 o

3 Large Ditto 4 6

I London Quart Pott 3 3

I Point Can 3 o

12 Platters 39 lbs., @ is. 7d 2 10 8

3 Brass Kittles 8 i o

I Silver Tankard 14 o o

I Cream Pott 2 15 o

£ s. d.
Old Tenor 55 i 4 )

55 I 4

In Colonial Money j 550 13 4

I Fraim of a Couch 13 6

297

APPENDIX

£ s. d.

2 Chests of Draws 75

I Dressing Table 12

I Pier-Foot Round Table 12

I Four- Foot Ditto 8

I Tea Ditto 8

I Kitchen Ditto 210

I Collard (colored?) Ditto 3 10

I Stand 2

1 Small Table 3

3 J Dozen Chairs 88

4 Feather Beds & bolsters & pillows 134
12 Pair pillibear cases (5 of them

Holland 10

10 Pair sheets (2 of them Holland . 8

Hollan for curtins & counterpins .... 30

20 yards blanketing 20

3 coverlids costly ones 32

2 coverlids 12

2 pieces calico 67

Outside I quilt 7

Outside & lining & Quilting 2 bed

quilts 15 4

24 yards tow-cloth for under beds. . 12

12 yards Diaper 12

12 yards huckabuck 12

6 yds. tow-cloth 3

2 Table-cloths, 9 yards @ 20s 9

14 yards Diaper 20s. pr yard 14

14s. 4 4

8 yards cloth for table & towels .... 4

chinch for curtins, 8 yards 15 4

muslin for lining 4 10

1 Set Cheaney Tea-Dishes 3 8

■J Set Tea-Dishes 3

2 Iron Potts 415

2 Iron Kittles 3 O

298

APPENDIX

£ s. d.

Skillet & Bason i 6

I Tea-Kittle 7 lo

I Chafing Dish 3

I Tea-Pot 2 5

I Toasting-iron i 5

I Frying-Pan i i6

I Warming-Pan 510

I Box-iron & heater 2 5

4 pattipans, i pepper-pot, i canister. 2 4

I pair snuffers 5

I bellows 2

I pair Tongs )

I Peal >• 14 10

I Gridiron }

1 Tribbet (trivet) ) „ ^^

2 Pair Hand-irons )

Case and a half of knives & forks ... 3

6 puter spunes 18

Wooden ware 4

Cooper work 7^4

Glasses & Earthen ware 17 5

2 large punch boulds 218

3 likor glasses i 10

14 picter fraims 916

Pictor and fraim of ye Royal Family . 30 5

I Great wheel 3 6

I Duch (Dutch) wheel 5

I Horse & Side-Saddle 100

4 cows 24

I Stear 24

I Sow & Piggs 5

1,520 10 II

Reduced to Lawful Money 152 i i

I Negro Girl 33

185 10 II
299

APPENDIX

Equisetace^ (Horsetails).
Page 135.

" The cuticle or thin skin which covers the
Horsetails, is in all the species regularly and beau-
tifully decked with particles of flint, arranged in
lines and other forms, often not the five-hundredth
part of an inch in diameter.

The Horsetails are found in every latitude from
the equator to the poles, abounding in the tropical
parts of America and Asia and at the Cape of Good
Hope, but becoming rare as we advance toward the
polar circles.

Our native species were by the old writers termed
Shave-grasses, and, as this Corn Horsetail has
much of the roughness given by the particles of
flint, and as it is the most frequent species, it is
probably the plant sold in Queen Elizabeth's time
by the ' Herbe-women of Cheapside ' under the
names of Shave-grass and Pewter-wort, or Vitraria,
though it would doubtless have been considered in-
ferior to the equisetum hyeniale, which Gerarde calls
* the small and naked shave-grass, wherewith
fletchers and combe-makers doe rub and polish
their worke.' It was very serviceable in the kitch-
ens of olden times, and was doubtless used for
cleaning the wooden spoons and platters^ the
' breen ' of our forefathers, as well as the ' gar-
nish ' of pewter. Although in early days the tables
of the opulent were served with silver, yet in the
humbler households wooden articles were com-
monly used at the daily meals until the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries, when pewter came into general
use among the higher classes, though not until the
eighteenth century were the articles made from it
300

APPENDIX

sufficiently cheap to admit of their being seen at
any save the rich man's table.

Harrison referring to this in 1580, says that in
some places " beyond the sea, a garnish of good
flat pewter of an ordinarie making is esteemed al-
most so pretious as the Hke number of vessels that
are made of silver and in a maner no less desired
amongst the great Estates v^here workmen are
nothing so skilful in that trade as ours," and the
prices he gives of the various articles prove their
great costliness.

The shave-grasses served for cleaning either kind
of ware, and this Corn Horsetail is still used by
the dairy-maids in Yorkshire for cleansing wooden
milk-pails, while the larger and less frequent plant
has long been known to our polishers of marble
and other similar substances, and under the name
of Dutch Rush has been imported from Holland for
their use.

The main stem of the frond is usually erect, two
or three feet high, hollow, tapering towards its sum-
mit, and marked with from fourteen to twenty
ridges. These ridges render the stem so rough to
the touch that they are like a file, and their crystals
of flint display under the microscope the most
exquisitely beautiful arrangement. They abound
both in the inner and outer cuticle, and form a com-
plete framework to the plant."

— Ferns of Great Britain and their Allies.
By Anne Pratt.

Page 153.

Among the Daughters of Liberty in Stratford
were two children of a man who, although many
of his family were fighting for freedom, remained
a Tory, declaring that " even the frogs in the
meadow croaked ' God save King George.' " The
301

APPENDIX

elder of these daughters, having lost her thimble,
would not buy another, as it would be an imported
article, and Polly, the little sister, scorning an Eng-
hsh needle, learned to sew with a fine thorn.

Page 156.

A collection of arrow-heads, broken tomahawks,
etc., gathered from this field, shows some arrow-
heads made of stone not found nearer than Maine
and Ohio, and at the Minneapolis Exhibition in
1 89 1 some of the arrow-heads exhibited there that
came from the Cliff-Dwellers in New Mexico were
of exactly the same shape and stone as some of
those found near the Spindle-tree.

Page 170.

In the Virginia campaign resulting in the defeat
of CornwalHs, the Due de Lauzun's was the first
force to meet the corps of Tarleton, and for this
service he was chosen to carry the news of the sur-
render of Yorktown to France.

The Chevalier de Hoehn was rewarded for cour-
age at Yorktown.

De Lauzun suffered under the guillotine in 1793.

Count Dillon was also guillotined.
302

POSTSCRIPT

During the last few years, the question has been
asked many times if the characters mentioned in
these pages were real people, and what was the name
of "Miss Mary."

The characters were real, and lived in the houses
and localities described, and with few exceptions bore
the name of Shelton, being descendants of Daniel
Shelton, the first of the name to settle in New Eng-
land in 1686, whose wife was a granddaughter of
Governor Thomas Welles.

"Miss Mary'' bore the name of Smith, but her
mother was Gloriana Shelton; Beach and Charity
were Tomlinsons, and Hephzibah de Forest became
a Hawley; all these names are prominent in the set-
tlement of western Connecticut.

It has been suggested that these facts might give
an added interest to the readers of "The Salt-Box

^°"s^-" A. S. S.

February, 1929.

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